Clark County will open its second large-scale COVID-19 vaccination site on Friday at the Tower Mall shopping center in Vancouver Heights.
The news came a day after Clark County announced a weekly shipment of first doses of vaccine that more than tripled the county’s usual weekly allotment. Clark County officials have been eager to open more large-scale vaccination sites, but haven’t had the supply to do so.
The new site will be open Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. As with the current site at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds, appointments are required to receive a vaccination.
The Tower Mall, at the intersection of East Mill Plain and MacArthur boulevards, is also the location of a free COVID-19 testing site open 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Appointments are available, but not required, to receive a test.
Clark County Public Health will use the new vaccination site to work through a list of almost 20,000 people who have requested vaccine by filling out a Public Health form.
The site will also prioritize “populations who are historically under-served and have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” according to a Clark County news release.
“The Tower Mall site makes COVID-19 vaccine more easily accessible and provides an opportunity to serve members of our community who are often medically under-served,” said Clark County Public Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick. “We’re excited to see more opportunities for everyone in our community to get vaccinated.”
Clark County has already started contacting people who are on the vaccine request list, but it will take weeks to schedule appointments for everyone.
The new site will offer about 600 appointments per day. More appointments could be offered if vaccine supply increases.
The site is a collaboration between Clark County Public Health, the city of Vancouver and Safeway. It will offer Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provided by Safeway through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
Safeway pharmacists will administer the shots, with support from Clark County Public Health. No vaccine will be stored on-site outside of normal operating hours. The city of Vancouver is providing nonmedical staff to assist with site operations.
Everyone vaccinated at the Tower Mall site will automatically be scheduled for their second dose at the same location three weeks later.
“Safeway is thrilled to be partnering with Clark County to make vaccine more accessible to its residents,” said Stephen Certo, Safeway’s pharmacy director for Oregon and Southern Washington. “We hope to continue to be able to vaccinate the members of Clark County throughout the upcoming phases.”
For more information about local COVID-19 vaccination efforts and to submit a request for COVID-19 vaccine, visit the Clark County Public Health COVID-19 vaccine web page, clark.wa.gov/public-health/covid-19-vaccine, or call 888-225-4625. The Public Health call center operates 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Vaccinations at Walmart
On Tuesday, local Walmart pharmacies began administering COVID-19 vaccines through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Eligible patients can schedule a vaccine appointment via the Walmart website once appointments are available: https://www.walmart.com/cp/1228302. Vaccines are reserved for those who meet the current phase of vaccine eligibility in Washington which can be found at the state Department of Health website: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/1600/coronavirus/VaccinationPhasesInfographic.pdf.
The locations administering the Pfizer vaccine include:
• 221E N.E. 104th Ave., Vancouver.
• 9000 N.E. Highway 99, Vancouver.
• 2201 Grand Blvd., Vancouver.
• 14505 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver.
• 430 S.E. 192nd Ave., Vancouver.
• 1201 S.W. 13th Ave., Battle Ground.
• 1486 Dike Access Rd., Woodland.
