Bellevue's Mobile Vaccine Team Hosts 1st Pop-Up Clinic Friday

BELLEVUE, WA — The Bellevue Fire Department's mobile COVID-19 vaccination team welcomes all residents to get vaccinated at Downtown Park on Friday, with no appointments needed. The May 7 pop-up clinic is the first of several planned at busy locations around the city, as King County works to make it easier than ever to get immunized.

Friday's clinic is open to anyone 18 and older and will offer first and second doses of Moderna or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Here's what to know:

• When: Friday, May 7 (9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.)
• Where: Downtown Park (west parking lot)
• No appointments needed; open to all people 18+
• Residents with limited mobility can show up at the park and text 425-614-9936 to and get vaccinated without having to leave their car.

Bellevue's new appointment-free options come as public health officials in King County and across the state work to immunize more young and middle-aged people, who are less vaccinated than older adults and make up most of the new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The mobile team's initial focus was on reaching the most vulnerable, making visits to adult family homes, senior facilities and homebound residents. Now, the strategy is shifting.

"The pop-ups represent Public Health's intention to 'meet people where they are,'" Bellevue officials wrote Thursday. "At this time, a little more than half of eligible Washingtonians have received at least one vaccine shot. While COVID-19 cases spiked in the state this spring, vaccinations are credited with limiting deaths and hospitalizations during this fourth wave."

For those who cannot make it Friday, two more pop-up clinics are planned for the near future. The mobile team will be at Crossroads Park on Wednesday, May 12, and Friday, May 14, between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. The city said more clinics are in the works at other parks, community centers, ballfields, shopping centers and farmers markets.

Residents can check Bellevue's website for the latest information on clinics planned throughout the city.