Inslee Puts Call Out for Potential COVID Vaccine Providers

Governor Jay Inslee gave an update on the state's vaccine outlook Monday after taking part in a call with Vice President Mike Pence on the subject earlier in the day.

Inslee said Washington State's first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine are immanent and still on track for mid-December.

"But we have to make sure they are available to folks." explained Inslee, "I'm making a quest today that our clinics, pharmacies, hospitals and physicians will sign up and enroll as providers for the vaccine. This is very important. We have to have people enroll in the program to become vaccine providers to actually administer a vaccine."

If a provider is enrolled by December 6th, it could be eligible for the first shipments.

Secretary of Health John Wiesman stated that front-line medical workers will be prioritized when the first shipments arrive in mid-December.

"We need somewhere between 60-70% of the population probably vaccinated to stop sort of these outbreaks and ongoing transmission," said Wiesman.

Washington State will essentially tell the federal government which providers to deliver the vaccine to. The vaccine will then be transported by either the pharmaceutical company or a distributor to providers. Providers will be reporting to the state how much vaccine they are administering each day and what their supplies are.