Crossposted from Public Health Insider 

It’s a remarkable milestone that the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are on the ground in our community. Public Health – Seattle & King County is one of several healthcare providers receiving limited quantities of COVID-19 vaccine this week. Hospital systems in King County will receive approximately 17,000 doses of vaccine in this first distribution, with Public Health scheduled to receive 3,900 doses. 

Across the state, the vaccine will be offered to workers in high-risk healthcare settings and residents and staff in long-term care facilities. In addition to offering vaccine to staff at healthcare facilities, hospital partners are making vaccine available to high risk workers in other healthcare settings who meet the Phase 1a criteria by the State Department of Health. 

For the initial doses received by Public Health – Seattle & King County, we will offer vaccine to paramedics and emergency medical technicians who can then be deployed to vaccinate others. In addition, we’ll begin to offer vaccine to long term care staff whose organizations are not registered for vaccine through a federal pharmacy program. Doses in the initial allocation will also be offered to Public Health and King County staff who are serving in very high risk settings such as those who work at the COVID-19 testing and isolation and quarantine sites.

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