Samaritan likely to receive first round of vaccines within week

MOSES LAKE — Nine months after the coronavirus pandemic first hit Grant County, the first vaccinations for residents are expected in the next week, according to a spokesperson for Samaritan Healthcare.

Samaritan was selected to be one of a limited number of health care providers to receive the first shipment of the vaccine, which was developed by Pfizer, said Samaritan Chief Medical Officer Dr. Andrea Carter in a Friday interview.

Shipment of Pfizer’s vaccine, which must be administered in two doses, 21 days apart, and stored at ultracold temperatures near -70 degrees Celsius. The Food and Drug Administration approved on Friday Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccine.

According to guidance from the state Department of Health on Thursday, vaccine supply initially will be limited, and distribution will be focused on high-risk health workers and first responders. Residents of long-term care centers will also be first in line for vaccination.

However, the first round of vaccines distributed in the state is likely to be insufficient to give even the first dose to every high-risk health-care worker or first responder, according to the DOH’s published guidance. The state estimates that there are anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 residents who qualify for this first round of vaccination.

It will take some time for supply to catch up to demand. State health officials estimate that Washington residents could receive anywhere from 150,000 to 300,000 doses in the first month and between 500,000 and one million in the second month, and the DOH recommends clinical judgment be used to determine those frontline workers who should be first.

Many residents of long-term care facilities will be vaccinated through a partnership between the federal government and private pharmacies CVS and Walgreens, which is expected to roll out in late December, according to the state DOH. Those pharmacies will set up distribution sites inside of participating facilities, said Candace Goehring, director of residential care services at the state Department of Social and Health Services, in a Friday interview.

All nursing homes, most assisted-living facilities and many adult family homes in the state have already signed up for the program, Goehring said.

Emry Dinman can be reached via email at edinman@columbiabasinherald.com.