First local mass vaccination event scheduled for Saturday
Andrea Martinez, a registered nurse at Samaritan, pulls a single dose of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer out of a vial containing multiple doses diluted with a saline solution.
Emry Dinman/Columbia Basin Herald
MOSES LAKE — The first mass COVID-19 vaccination event in Grant County is scheduled for Saturday at the Grant County Fairgrounds.
Appointments for the 1,000 available doses already have been filled, said Gretchen Youngren, executive director of development and communication at Samaritan Healthcare. People who don’t have an appointment won’t be able to receive the vaccine.
Andrea Carter, Samaritan’s chief medical officer, said people who receive the shot Saturday automatically will be scheduled for the follow-up shot, to be administered at a similar event Feb. 20.
“While we hope to provide additional first doses at the February event, it will highly depend on the supply of vaccine from the state at that time,” Carter said.
The mass vaccination program is being sponsored by the Grant County Vaccine Task Force. The sponsors hope to provide mass vaccinations every three weeks, or as the regional supply of vaccine allows, Youngren said.
The task force has scheduled upcoming at events Grand Coulee on Feb. 5 and Quincy on Feb. 6, Youngren said.
The task force members include Samaritan, Grant County Health District, Confluence Health, Moses Lake Community Health Center, Quincy Community Health Center, Columbia Basin Family Medicine, Mattawa Community Medical Center, the Wahluke clinic of Columbia Basin Health Association, Quincy Valley Medical Center, Coulee Medical Center and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.