COVID-19 vaccinations have been a regular part of the Yakima Farmers Market in Union Gap for several weeks now.
“Being at a farmers market on a Sunday is a great opportunity,” said Yakima Neighborhood Health Services CEO Rhonda Hauff, whose organization is giving the vaccines. “A lot of people don’t work on Sunday.”
She said the number vaccinated on a given day varies from just a few people to upward of 30.
Along with the farmers market, Neighborhood Health has had mobile vaccination clinics several times a week. The clinics have focused on the Lower Yakima Valley, where many residents don’t have easy access to their clinics. Neighborhood Health also partnered with aging and long-term care organizations to do home visits for those physically unable to visit a clinic.
“We’re finding value in one immunization at a time, as opposed to hundreds at a time,” Hauff said. “And we’ll continue to do that as long as needed.”
Yakima Valley health organizations continue to pursue the goal of getting as many people vaccinated as possible, ideally inching toward having at least 70% of those 16 and older in Yakima County vaccinated.
The state is close to reaching that goal — 69.6% of Washington residents 16 and older have initiated vaccination or have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the state Department of Health.
The figure for Yakima County is much lower, as 58.9% have initiated vaccination, and 52.7% have been fully vaccinated.
When including residents 12 and older — youths ages 12 to 15 can receive the Pfizer vaccine — Yakima County’s percentage drops, as 55.6% have initiated vaccination and 49.4% are fully vaccinated.
Like the rest of the state and U.S., daily vaccination rates in Yakima have dropped considerably after peaking in April, when providers were distributing thousands of doses a day.
Yakima County has distributed an average of 418 daily COVID-19 vaccine doses over seven days as of Friday, according to the latest data available from the state Department of Health. The average peaked in early April when the figure was closer to 3,000 doses.
Mobile vaccination sites
Health officials in Yakima County and throughout the U.S. have shifted from a mass vaccination site model to having multiple small mobile clinics. The goal is to eliminate barriers and increase accessibility for those who have not been vaccinated yet.
Since March 31, the Yakima Health District has had 422 mobile clinics, a figure that does not include clinics organized by individual medical providers such as Neighborhood Health and Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic.
The Yakima Health District has given out vaccines at community events, restaurants, retailers and community organizations, said Nathan Johnson, local emergency response coordinator for the Yakima Health District. The district has had an average of 27 to 28 mobile clinics a week.
The mobile vaccine clinic teams for the Yakima Health District can handle upward of 300 to 400 COVID-19 vaccinations a day.
Most days, the teams average 200 to 300 vaccinations a day, Johnson said. Some individual clinics have provided upward of 20 to 60 vaccinations in a single day. The health district has taken note on which sites have had a good turnout and locations that have not attracted many residents.
The Yakima Health District continues to distribute vaccinations at State Fair Park in Yakima, which is still generating a solid turnout. The health district plans to continue running the site through at least this month and then evaluate the next steps.
“More of the need is making the healthy choice easy for people and making those opportunities very accessible,” Johnson said.
Mobile clinics are a way for residents to get information about COVID-19 vaccines, Johnson said. Spanish-speaking staff members are available to answer questions.
“A lot of times we’ve been out on a vaccination site, and someone who probably wouldn’t have (received) it otherwise said, ‘I was able to have that conversation and learn about vaccines and get my questions answered,’” Johnson said.
Hauff, the Neighborhood Health CEO, agrees there is a lot of work to do in educating the public about the vaccine, especially regarding safety.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there,” she said. “Having health professionals out there is important. I think people want to make informed decisions.”
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One vaccination at a time key to continued success in Yakima County - Yakima Herald-Republic
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