North Central Public Health District is sending COVID-19 vaccine booking emails today to those 65 and older, and other eligible groups, who have signed up to our vaccine eligibility notification system. Phone outreach is also ongoing to senior citizens.
The health district opened 350 slots today for the week of March 15. The email will go to about 2,500 people. This gives a sense of the demand vs. supply for vaccine. If you are still getting these booking emails and have gotten the vaccine, please unsubscribe.
We have also added a feature to our website, https://www.ncphd.org/, that will tell the public whether or not vaccines are available, so they don’t have to keep checking for openings. It will appear on our home page, vaccine information page, and on the booking page itself.
- Booking email contains link and password to online scheduling system
- Demand far exceeds supply, appointments fill quickly; you likely will not get one right away
- Please do not call us if you did not get an appointment; more will open later
- Keep booking email and please check back regularly
- New appointments are created weekly for the following 1-2 weeks only; no need to check beyond that timeframe.
Getting the vaccine from the health district is a two-step process:
- First, complete the eligibility notification form at https://www.ncphd.org/phase-notifications.
- Second, once your group is eligible for the vaccine per state guidelines, you will get an email with the link and password to the booking system to begin seeking an appointment.
We ask the community to reach out to older family members, friends or neighbors and offer to help them with this online process. You can use your own email address in the form you fill out for them. The same email can be used for multiple people.
Since we know an online system is a barrier for many seniors, phone outreach is being done by several community partners. Mid-Columbia Medical Center volunteers are calling older patients to offer help with signing up. Mid-Columbia Senior Center and Age+ volunteers are also calling older folks to assist.
For a ride to the vaccine clinic, which is at the Fort Dalles Readiness Center by Columbia Gorge Community College, the LINK Bus offers door to door rides for $1.50 each way (others may be on the ride with you who have their own stops). The service is offered in The Dalles, Dufur, Mosier, Celilo and points between in unincorporated Wasco County. Call LINK at 541-296-7595.
(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/)