Health Administrator Gives Vaccination Update, Explains Apple Blossom Outlook

Chelan-Douglas Health District Administrator Luke Davies gave updates on several key issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic during a press conference Tuesday at the Town Toyota Center.

Davies first provided a snapshot of the vaccination effort at the Town Toyota Center (TTC) mass vaccination site. As of last Friday, the TTC has administered 27,467 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since its inception. Last week the site administered 3,808 doses, 868 of which were second doses. Educators received 1,106 shots last week.

The state has had some issues getting its federal allocations. Davies stated that the last few weeks have been a challenge, but the hope is that more reliable, three week to four week forecasts will begin next week. The number of vaccine doses are expected to rise significantly in April.

Next week about 3,500 booster doses will be administered at the TTC as well as two-to-three thousand first doses.

As those in Phase 1B-Tier 2 become vaccine-eligible Wednesday, the mass vaccination site has been preparing for the move.

The health district is partnering with local groups like grocery stores and the Ag sector to organize the Phase 1B-Tier 2 effort. There are an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 residents of Chelan and Douglas County that are eligible under Tier 2.

The district will use pop-up clinics for the harder to reach vaccine-eligible groups. Those not in any of the currently eligible phases should NOT sign up for an appointment at the Town Toyota Center in order to leave open slots for those individuals that do qualify. Anyone not part of an eligible tier will be turned away.

Many parts of state are not yet able to make the move to Tier 2. Grant County is still working through its 1B-Tier 1 population. About 15-17% of the county's eligible population has been vaccinated, compared to Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties which are around 30%. The district has been doing outreach in the Ephrata, Quincy, and Moses Lake areas in order to encourage more NCW residents to the mass vaccination site.

Davies explained some of the counsel the district provided the Apple Blossom Planning Committee leading up to the decision to delay the festival until June Tuesday. He said that their best-case scenario for having some limited events in June includes a hope that COVID-19 vaccine coverage greatly increases while case rates continue to drop. If cases begin to rise again and the area experiences a much greater vaccine hesitancy than they are currently seeing, most likely the festival will be canceled.

The state Department of Health, CDHD and the Governor's Office will continue to work closely with organizers to see what is and isn't feasible. Davies added that the last thing they'd want to do is have a super-spreader event.