Appointments open for Friday's vaccination event at CMC

Anyone can now either sign up for a vaccination event in Grand Coulee this Friday or get on a list to get vaccinated against COVID-19 through a state website Grant County Health District made live last week.

So far (11 a.m. March 17), about 576 appointments are already set up for the drive-through event in Coulee Medical Center's parking lot from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

The website seems improved from an earlier version and is simple to navigate. It lists every time slot, noting whether it's still open for an appointment. You scroll to a time you can make it, select it that time and then answer questions.

The site specifically for Grand Coulee is https://prepmod.doh.wa.gov/client/registration?clinic_id=845.

Even if you are not yet eligible, you can get on a list for notifications of available vaccines by scrolling to the bottom of the time slots page and clicking on "Add To Waiting List."

"If there are people who want to get vaccinated, but are not in currently eligible tiers, please encourage them to sign up under the waitlist," said health district public information officer

Misty Aguilar in a regional leadership Zoom meeting Wednesday morning.

The district is encouraging local business organizations to start a "Make a Date to Vaccinate" campaign. Just over 20,000 people in Grant County had been vaccinated with at least one shot as of Saturday night, the Dept. of Health's vaccine dashboard says.

She noted in the meeting that people who are not yet eligible for a vaccine can volunteer to help with the program and become eligible for a vaccine since that qualifies them as "front line" workers.

Friday's event at CMC is staffed by Samaritan Healthcare workers from Moses Lake, CMC staff, volunteers and more, including local fire department volunteers and others directing traffic.

Wenatchee Valley Chamber director Sasha Sleiman said during the meeting that earlier in the vaccine effort people were being turned away for lack of vaccine supply, but that is changing.

She noted that the state's mass vaccination site at the Town Toyota Center still had over 300 slots available for tomorrow's event.

Anyone locally could get an appointment there through the same system online at https://prepmod.doh.wa.gov.