Winter storms delay 90% of Washington’s COVID vaccine shipments, health officials say

As parts of the nation grapple with winter storms, most of Washington’s COVID-19 vaccine shipments have been delayed, causing some mass immunization sites to close, according to a news release from the state’s Department of Health.

Weather has caused delays in vaccine shipments across the country, and Washington is no exception, the release said. Officials estimate that more than 90% of this week’s allocation will be late because of storms in the East, according to the release.

The delivery delays have forced state-led mass vaccination sites in Kennewick and Spokane to close through the weekend, the release said. People who scheduled appointments for that time will get an email to reschedule for next week.

The mass vaccination site in Ridgefield will also be closed Saturday, but there were no scheduled appointments.

While Washington did receive 22,500 doses of the vaccine this week, many Moderna and Pfizer shipments were delayed, the release said.

As vaccine allocations increase, more pharmacies are offering immunizations. Walmart, Rite Aid and Kroger have joined the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, alongside Safeway/Albertson’s, Costco and Health Mart Independent Pharmacies, according to the release.

More than 1.2 million doses of the vaccine have been given in Washington as of Feb. 15 — nearly 83% of the 1.4 million doses that were delivered to providers and long-term care programs across the state, the health department said.

Washington is giving an average of 26,204 vaccinations a day.

The state is currently in Phase 1B tier 1 of the governor’s vaccine distribution plan, the department’s website says.

“The vaccine is available to anyone 65 and older, and all people 50 and older who also live in a multigenerational household,” the department says. “This is in addition to populations eligible during Phase 1A, including health care workers at high risk for COVID-19 infection, first responders, people who live or work in long-term care facilities and all other workers in health settings who are at risk of COVID-19.”

As of Tuesday, the Department of Health reported 313,633 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,759 deaths in Washington.