Spokane’s biggest healthcare providers waiting for more vaccine doses, urging patience to community
SPOKANE, Wash.– Providers and clinics around Washington are ready for an endless supply of vaccines, but the U.S. can’t make that happen just yet.
That’s why providers like MultiCare and Providence Health are stressing patience.
“If we had an endless supply, we would work day and night to continue to vaccinate,” Dr. Jessica McHugh of MultiCare said.
President Joe Biden and his administration are now answering the plea from clinics and providers to ramp up the supply.
They’ll now send another 10.5 million doses to states per week for at least the next three weeks.
That’s a critical step towards fixing this vaccine rollout as MultiCare and Providence have struggled to get information about how many doses they can get and when those would be coming.
MultiCare told 4 News Now the requesting process is simple as they work with the State Department of Health and ask for a certain amount of doses.
But more often than not over the last month and a half, the providers are not getting the number of doses they ask for.
That’s why MultiCare launched this website which includes a hotline number for you to get on a vaccine waiting list, if you qualify for Washington’s current phases.
If you do, you can call 833-770-0530.
MultiCare said it has a well-run system in place to vaccinate 1,200 people per day once those doses come in at a consistent rate.
“We’re gonna be vaccinating for a while, so just reminding people to have patience and give grace,” Dr. McHugh said. “We’re gonna keep moving through those high priority patients as quickly as possible.”
Providence told 4 News Now it does not have enough doses for the community right now but has had success getting some doses out to people in Phases 1A and 1B.
In a statement, Providence said “the limited supply is not just a Spokane issue, rather a national one that we are hopeful will improve soon. Patience is important.”
Providence went on to tell us, “while we wait for more vaccine, it is important to remember that masks and social distancing can greatly reduce the spread of the virus. More than anything, we are optimistic about the great demand for the vaccine locally.”
The federal government is also now sending the vaccine to pharmacies nationwide, including those in grocery stores like Albertsons and Safeway.
Those two will be the first pharmacies to receive and give out the vaccine in Washington.
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