Pierce Health Warns Of Mix-Ups In Vaccination Event Registration

LAKEWOOD, WA — If you are one of the 3,000 Pierce County residents who signed up in time to get vaccinated at the health department's vaccination clinics next week, you may want to double-check your registration.

Friday afternoon, the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department announced that they would be hosting two vaccination events next week, one in Puyallup on Thursday, and one in Lakewood Tuesday. Despite the fact that each event could fit in around 1,500 vaccinations, slots filled up fast and the health department announced they had closed off registrations by 7 p.m. Friday.

Unfortunately, that is not the end of the story as the health department announced Saturday they've become aware of two issues with their registration process. The big one: their online registration forms allowed applicants to sign up for clinics at the wrong location.

In the example provided by the health department: the Puyallup clinic is set for Thursday, the 28th. However, during online registration residents were able to sign up to get their shots in Puyallup on the 26th. There is no clinic in Puyallup on the 26th— the 26th is the date of their other vaccination event, at Clover Point Technical College in Lakewood.

As a result, anyone who signed up for an event at the wrong date, still has an appointment at that time, but at the wrong location. So someone who signed up to go to the Puyallup clinic on the 26th, actually has an appointment set for the Lakewood clinic on the 26th. The reverse is true: anyone who signed up for a shot in Lakewood on the 28th, instead has an appointment at the state fair grounds in Puyallup that day.

If that sounds confusing, the health department says they know — and that they are sending a new round of emails to everyone who registered to confirm the correct dates and locations for their vaccinations.

As for the many other residents who couldn't sign up for either of these events, don't worry too much: the health department has promised to host other vaccination clinics in the coming weeks, and have teased that the next event will likely take place in Gig Harbor.