Pierce County Expands Vaccination Clinic, Slots Quickly Filled

PUYALLUP, WA — It took around 30 minutes for some 400 vaccination appointments to be filled at the upcoming drive-thru clinic in Puyallup.

The Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department announced just before 9 a.m. that they could fit in the additional appointments. By 9:28, all 400 slots had been filled.

Update: the health department has announced an upcoming vaccination clinic in Gig Harbor. Slots for that free clinic are still available, find out more here: 3rd Pierce County Vaccination Event: How To Register Thursday

The high demand is no surprise considering the difficulty some residents have had finding a shot. Though the state has recently made efforts to expand vaccine availability and expects larger shipments of vaccine doses over the next month, demand has largely outpaced the state's ability to provide and administer the vaccine.

When the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department first announced the drive-thru clinics, they filled up similarly quickly. The two clinics were originally announced Friday afternoon, one set for Tuesday in Lakewood, another for Thursday at the state fairgrounds in Puyallup. Even though both could fit more than 1,500 vaccinations, all 3,000 slots filled up within a few hours.

At the Lakewood clinic Tuesday, the health department inoculated 1,883 people and called the event a success.

That may be cold comfort for the many residents who couldn't sign up in time, but there is a silver lining: the success of events like these means the health department will continue their plans to hold more of these drive-thru clinics.

When more clinics are announced, they will be open to the public, although only to residents who are eligible to receive the vaccine under the state's distribution plan, and require that residents set up an appointment to get their shots.

To qualify for these and future events, a resident must be in Phases 1A or 1B1 of the state's vaccination plan. That includes:

• Health care workers
• Medical first responders
• Residents and staff of long-term care facilities
• Anyone 65 and older
• Residents 50 or older and who live in a multigenerational household.

The health department also keeps an updated list of health care providers and pharmacies offering the vaccine on their website at www.tpchd.org/vaxtothefuture.