Gig Harbor area shines in COVID-19 vaccination effort; Key Peninsula, not so much
As vaccination numbers reach encouraging levels nationwide, with nearly 47% of the eligible population vaccinated, some areas of Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula are still lagging behind.
On this side of the bridge, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department says, some areas show numbers that are far below state and national trends.
Spokesperson Karen Irwin said 56.8 percent of Gig Harbor residents have initiated vaccination, but only 39.3 percent of Key Peninsula residents have done so. “Initiated” means they have received at least a single dose.
The numbers for the Key Peninsula are especially low relative to the rest of the state. The Washington State Department of Health said on Thursday it has seen almost 63 percent of people 16 and older initiate vaccination and 54 percent get fully vaccinated. The goal is 70 percent.
According to the department website, some locations near Gig Harbor, such as the Forest Beach-Kopachuck area, are above average with more than 81 percent having received at least one dose.
In some areas of the Key Peninsula, it is a different story.
According to the TPCHD map, the Vaughn area has some of the lowest rates, with only around 32 percent having received at least one dose. In the Lakebay-Longbranch area, including McNeil and Anderson islands, it is slightly better, with around 39 percent having initiated vaccinations.
Pierce County Council Chair and Gig Harbor resident Derek Young, who had just received his second vaccine dose himself when reached, said there are a variety of reasons for vaccine reluctance on the Key Peninsula, including political skepticism.
“There are a certain number of people that just are convinced that this is not for them,” Young said. “We have two populations: One that is willing to get vaccinated and will get protected. One who will continue to get sick and suffer the consequences. Its unfortunate, but there is a lot of misinformation out there.”
It’s also harder to get the word out in rural areas, Young said.
“Especially in the rural areas, we’re trying to get more pop-up clinics and more opportunities to get vaccinated. But, you know, it’s hard to communicate with those areas,” Young said.
He also pointed to a decrease in demand that has led the county to shut down some mass vaccination clinics when appointments were left unfilled. Young said that’s a sign that the vaccination effort has entered a new phase and that the strategy must change along with it.
“In the beginning, we couldn’t get it out fast enough because there were people willing to walk over broken glass to get it because they felt vulnerable. Now we’ve reached pretty much all of those people who were pretty eager,” Young said. “We have to kind of shift from our mass vaccination model, which was basically get shots in arms as fast as possible, to more of a personal, localized outreach. .”
The health department has tried to reach those who are further out, especially those who are elderly and can’t get to appointments. A call center is reachable at 253-649-1412 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 7 days a week.
“Anyone who is homebound can get a vaccine. We have mobile units that will drive to their house,” Irwin said “Our call center will stand on their heads to get you a vaccine.”
Irwin said they average “several hundred” calls a day and are still working to get shots in arms. Part of this has taken the form of campaigns to encourage people to get vaccinated. On its blog, the department has featured testimonials from local residents who were recently vaccinated.
They include Peninsula high school football coach Ross Filkins, who said that getting vaccinated remains the best way to get back to normal, which includes having fans at football games.
‘COVID Angels’ at work
Local residents have also worked to help fill the gap. Jon Fujioka had been working with the Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank to also assist people get vaccinated.
“We got an email from one of our regular senior clients who came in asking for help. He expressed frustration as he could hardly use a computer or he didn’t know where he could go,” Fujioka said. “Every time he got where he was supposed to go, there were no appointments available.”
Fujioka said he then crunched the numbers and determined he could help more than 200 seniors who were clients to help them get vaccine appointments.
“I just wanted to see if we could put together a team that could reach out to our clients 65 and over and just offer our services to help them get matched up with an appointment,” Fujioka said. “It took us maybe three or four weeks to get through that list.”
The program, known as the “COVID Angels.” has since wound down, as he and his helpers worked down the list.
Talking through fears
Jaime Larson, a nurse at the Key Medical Center, said many people on the Key Peninsula are skeptical about the vaccine, but most accept it when she talks it through with them.
“They may not always understand or accept, but there is peace of mind that we have with our patients,” Larson said. “Once they’ve had that opportunity to talk with us, it seems to help them make that decision. I’d say at least 90 percent of them have been willing and actually gone through the process.”
Before coming to the Key Peninsula clinic last December, Larson worked to help treat patients who had COVID. That was draining and left her burnt out, she said, but the experience gave her talking points to use with skeptical patients.
“When I’m typically done talking to them a lot of them do choose to actually get the vaccination,” she said. ”They just need someone to talk to.”
The Key Medical Center is not really geared up for a large-scale vaccination effort, Larson said, but she estimates the clinic has given approximately 72 people a first and second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
“Hopefully in the next couple weeks we should be getting a small handful of doses here every couple weeks. By small handful, its typically one or two vials. Each vial is ten doses, so you know I would ten does in one day and ten doses in the next day,” Larson said. “For us, it has just been a logistical issue.”
Young, the county council member, said he’s optimistic about efforts to encourage vaccination, such as incentives rolled out last month by Governor Jay Inslee in partnership with the State Lottery. However, he still sees danger to those who remain unprotected without a vaccine.
“I’m concerned for their health and safety. The most frustrating thing about all this is that the danger has been undersold,” Young said. “Death is not the only risk. I personally know a number of people who have potentially permanent disabilities as a result of this. Their life is completely blown up and changed.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
