Today Island Hospital (IH) received only 100 of the 400 doses requested of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the State of Washington. Given there are only 100 appointments available this week, IH is again asking for patience from community members.

All booster doses (2nd doses) for this week have arrived. IH will be vaccinating the 411 Phase 1A individuals due for their booster as scheduled. IH has not used vials designated for booster doses for dose one vaccinations.

IH has requested between 400 and 1,000 vaccines each week. The chart below outlines the total vaccinates allocated to date.

Island Hospital will open their schedule for Phase 1B1 individuals on Wednesday, February 3 at noon. Established patients or residents in their immediate service area, which includes those living on Fidalgo Island, Guemes Island, Sinclair Island and in La Conner who qualify in Phase 1B1 are invited to schedule.

There are two ways to schedule:
1) ONLINE at https://islandhealths.wpengine.com/covidvaccine.
2) SCHEDULING ASSISTANCE MESSAGE LINE: When the online appointments open Wednesday at noon, the vaccine message line will also reopen for community members needing assistance with scheduling. Online scheduling is preferred; however, those who cannot access the internet or do not have the means to schedule online may leave their name, date of birth, address and phone number at 360-299-1367. This message line is checked by staff and volunteers who are returning calls in the order they were received. IH is requesting that community members please leave this line open for those who truly need assistance with scheduling.

Island Hospital leadership is reaching out to state representatives to see if they can assist with acquiring more vaccine and determine how best to support the community in vaccine allocation and distribution.

“We continue to meet with local and state leaders to advocate for more vaccine allocation to our community,” said Island Hospital CEO, Charles Hall, MSN, MBA.

Island Hospital has been collaborating with regional hospitals and public health while following the growing frustration across the country on vaccine distribution. While IH realized that it was frustrating for people not to be able to book appointments into the future, their approach avoids the disappointment of appointments being cancelled if vaccine does not arrive. IH only opens the appointment schedule when the vaccine has been received from the State, utilizing a same-week scheduling model.

IH is asking for patience and kindness from the community as they work to help distribute the limited vaccines currently available. Community members can help by referencing the website for vaccine information: https://islandhealths.wpengine.com/covidvaccine.

Details on Phase 1B Eligibility:

• Established patients or residents in the immediate service area, which includes those living on Fidalgo Island, Guemes Island, Sinclair Island and in La Conner.
• The Phase 1B group includes individuals 65 years of age and older, and those 50 years or older living in a multigenerational household.
• Patients will be asked to use the Find Your Phase website (http://www.findyourphasewa.org/) to ensure they meet the 1B requirements.

The Washington State Department of Health’s website lists convenient vaccine locations: https://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Immunization/VaccineLocations