Washington COVID-19 vaccine distribution hits 500,000 total doses administered

Submitted by Gov. Jay Inslee’s office

On Jan. 25, Gov. Jay Inslee announced progress toward the state’s goal of administering 45,000 vaccine doses a day. As of Monday, the state’s current seven-day rolling average was 23,960 doses administered.

The governor also announced a record number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in a 24-hour period, with around 40,000 doses reported as of Monday. Washington also officially passed 500,000 vaccine doses administered and reported. That is 57.4 percent of the doses provided to the state by the federal government.

Inslee and Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah issued the vaccination goal last Monday at a press conference. On Thursday, the state reported the previous week’s average being 16,000 doses a day. Today’s numbers mark an 8,000 increase in the average number of COVID vaccines going into Washington residents’ arms across the state every day.

“We have taken action, we expanded our distribution and infrastructure and it is working,” Inslee said Monday. “We still have a long way to go, but if Washingtonians have proven anything throughout this pandemic, it is that we are up to the task. We have taken action, and we will continue to improve until we meet and exceed our goals.”

Washington has been administering COVID-19 vaccines for just over a month. During that time, the Department of Health and local health jurisdictions have made adjustments to make the vaccine distribution as efficient as possible. This includes the creation of a public-private partnership with business and labor to form the state’s Vaccine Command and Coordination Center.

Since vaccines first started being administered a month ago, four state-run offsite clinics have been launched, along with a statewide vaccine administration data reporting system.

As of Jan. 21, 886 provider facilities across the state are enrolled in the vaccine distribution program, with every county having at least one enrolled provider. Nearly 500 provider facilities are pending approval.

“The Department of Health is working to expedite the urgently needed vaccination of Washington state residents,” Shah said. “The reality is, there are more people eligible to receive a vaccine in Phase 1B, Tier 1 than first doses available, so we appreciate everyone’s patience as we stand up a state-supported, regionally coordinated, and locally benefitted approach to tackle this challenge.”

The state has also worked to make individual information on the vaccine more accessible. Residents can find out what vaccination phase they or their loved ones are in online through FindYourPhaseWA.org. The tool also helps individuals find vaccination clinics near them where they can make an appointment.