Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
DAVENPORT – After originally not including teachers and childcare workers in the current 1B phase of vaccination, Gov. Jay Inslee pivoted and declared educators and licensed childcare workers should be added to the current phase “immediately.” Inslee’s flip came after President Joe Biden issued a directive that all states should prioritize the vaccination of educators and childcare workers.
Inslee said he will “soon” announce when the state will prioritize grocery store workers, farmworkers, food processors, bus drivers and corrections workers. Currently, counties are forbidden from advancing past the current vaccination phase, whether they are ready to move on or not.
Many Lincoln County school staff members have already been vaccinated. The county Health Department gave extra doses of the Moderna vaccine it received to school staff members in Davenport, Reardan, Harrington, Odessa, Wilbur and Sprague. The state shut down that practice, so teacher vaccination was put on hold for several weeks.
After Biden and Inslee’s directives, educators and childcare staff members can now call the health department or clinic to get on the list to be vaccinated, if they haven’t already.
Public health administrator Ed Dzedzy said his department is trying to figure out whether Biden and Inslee’s order means teachers and childcare workers are now at the top of the priority list, or are just eligible. The current phase, which the health department and local clinics are currently working through, also includes first responders, healthcare workers, those 65 and up and those 50 and up living in a multigenerational household.
Inslee said in a statement that “we will continue the current state plans and goals to focus on those most at risk, including older adults and those facing the greatest equity gaps.”
Lincoln County has given out over 2,300 doses of vaccine total. The health department has 48 doses ready for a clinic in Sprague Friday, March 5, and 72 doses for a clinic in Wilbur March 12. Both are the Pfizer vaccine, which requires a shot three weeks apart.
The health department and hospitals are also working on finishing up second, or booster doses for those who already received their first shot, but haven’t received their second shot. The county recently received 100 doses of the Moderna vaccine from Spokane County, which Dzedzy said will be used for booster doses.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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