As North Central Public Health District begins to vaccinate older residents, we ask the public to keep in mind that we have a limited vaccine supply and a large population seeking vaccine.
Everyone who wants a vaccine will get one, but please realize it will take time. We’ve waited a long time for a vaccine, and we thank you for your continued patience as we navigate the distribution.
Wasco County has over 1,200 people who are 80 and older, the group now eligible to be vaccinated. By comparison, our vaccine allocation for the coming week is 300 first doses. Those doses are shared among the three counties we serve: Wasco, Sherman and Gilliam.
Under state guidelines, those 75 and older will be eligible to get a vaccine the week of Feb. 15, those 70 and older the week of Feb. 22, and those 65 and older the week of March 1.
In all of those age groups, Wasco County has an estimated 6,147 people, Sherman 494 and Gilliam 609. That’s 7,250 people in total. We are also still vaccinating educators and childcare providers.
Please remember that eligibility for vaccine does not mean the availability of vaccine.
We are using an online booking system that lets people book their own appointment once their group is eligible. At times, there will be no available bookings. We ask people to check back to the system regularly to see if new appointments have opened up.
Vaccine appointment openings will be available soon for the week of Feb. 22.
We also ask the public to help their elderly family members, neighbors and friends to navigate the online system, and perhaps even handle that aspect of it for them.
That is a two-step process. First is signing them up at https://www.ncphd.org/phase-notifications to get on the notification list for eligibility.
Then, once their group is eligible for vaccine, they are emailed a link to our booking system and can regularly check for openings.
Mid-Columbia Senior Center is also helping seniors with the booking process. They can be reached at 541-296- 4788.
(For more information, please visit COVID-19 Vaccine in Oregon or contact North Central Public Health District at (541) 506-2600 or visit us on the web at www.ncphd.org or https://wascoshermangilliamcovid- 19.com/)