This Saturday, July 24th and again Saturday July 31st, VA staff will volunteer and participate in free COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the Ilani Casino & Resort, located in Ridgefield, Washington, with donated excess vaccines.
In a massive effort to eliminate the wasting of unused COVID-19 vaccine doses prior to their expiration date, the VA NW Health Care System, VISN 20, located in Vancouver, Washington, began brainstorming – contacting city and county offices, casinos, community colleges, breweries and sportswear companies, everyone they could think of to help with the nationwide vaccination push.
“With demand for vaccines almost at a standstill, and some vaccine supplies set to expire at the end of July, our staff is absolutely determined and 100% committed to getting shots in the arms of as many community members as possible” said Dr. Teresa Boyd, Network Director, VISN 20. Recent changes in legislation allow VA to donate excess doses to community partners making vaccines available to everyone – regardless of Veteran status, at non-VA locations such as the casino.
On Saturday, July 24th, the first event will take place at the MUZE Lounge at the Ilani Casino & Resort in Ridgefield, Washington. Visitors will be offered the one-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine and $10 in Casino Promo Play. Hours each Saturday run from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. All adults 18 and older are welcome. Minors are allowed in the casino if they are accompanied by an adult but are not eligible for the vaccine. Masks are not required for vaccinated individuals. “We are thrilled by this first partnership and hoping it spurs interest from other potential community partners,” said Boyd.
VISN 20, the VA Northwest Health Network, includes the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, most of Idaho, and one county each in Montana and California. VISN 20’s 135 counties cover approximately 23% of the United States land mass, and 86% of the counties are classified as having medically underserved areas or containing medically underserved populations.