Mill Creek Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

Snohomish County is poised to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine, when it becomes available.

The FDA is considering a Pfizer vaccine Dec. 10. If approved, the distribution process would be through the usual channels for vaccines, which include health care providers and other agencies that usually offer a flu shot, said Dr. Chris Spitters, in a weekly update of the Joint Information Commission. In the same update event, weekly for the county's Joint Information Commission, Executive Dave Somers mentioned that there are multiple "promising" candidates for vaccination.

A second is by a pharmaceutical company called Moderna.

The COVID‐19 Vaccine is likely to be in limited supply as the first doses are either under emergency use protocols or as a licensed vaccine with a FDA approval, the Snohomish Health District website states. The plan for who receives the COVID‐19 vaccine in each phase is a process that continues to be refined, the health district states. Within the plan, the most current update of the Washington State Department of Health prioritization of allocation describes the population groups who are, at this time, identified to be eligible for the COVID‐19 vaccine. The priority groups are at highest risk of coming into contact with the virus and at the greatest need for managing its impact.

The DOH states that the two groups may be offered the vaccine first are health care workers and first responders who are at high risk for COVID-19, and people with underlying health conditions that put them at a significantly higher risk for COVID-19.

Snohomish County has large numbers of providers that have the capacity and resources to administer the COVID‐19 vaccine. Within the plan, there are estimated calculations of the current systems, their agency type, the number of organizations within Snohomish County, and their estimated throughput per week.

As more agencies and facilities enroll in the COVID‐19 Vaccination Program, these numbers will change and be updated.

The pharmacy partnership for long term care program provides end‐to‐end management of the COVID‐19 vaccination process, including onsite vaccinations and fulfillment of reporting requirements. The goal is to facilitate safe vaccination of the patient population, while reducing burden on facilities and health departments.

An overview of the distribution plan is here: https://bit.ly/2KFFWE2. A frequently asked questions list from the DOH is here: https://bit.ly/3fHjWEq.