Community Vaccination Hub at North Seattle College Will Be Fourth City-Affiliated Fixed Vaccination Site
Site Has Initial Capacity for 1,170 Vaccinations Per Week, Could Scale Up to 6,400, Supply Permitting
SEATTLE (March 31, 2021) – Mayor Jenny A. Durkan today announced that the City is helping to support a new Community Vaccination Hub operated by Seattle Visiting Nurse Association (SVNA) at North Seattle College. The site at North Seattle College will be the fourth City-affiliated fixed vaccination site, in addition to the Lumen Field Event Center, Rainier Beach, and West Seattle. SVNA provides the doses and serves as the clinical partner, Seattle Colleges provides the location, and the City of Seattle is supporting with non-clinical volunteer staffing, language access, logistics, and registration services. This week, the City of Seattle and clinical partners will administer approximately 18,700 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
“This pandemic is a once-in-a-generation challenge and vaccinating our communities is not something that any individual or organization can face alone. The City is proud to partner with Seattle Visiting Nurse Association and Seattle Colleges to open a new vaccination hub in North Seattle. This site is all the more important as cases surge across our city, but particularly in the North End,” said Mayor Durkan. “We all have a role to play in defeating this pandemic especially as cases are rising in our region and state. Please, get vaccinated as soon as you’re eligible. If you’re not yet eligible, you can help someone in your community get an appointment through our notification list. I know everyone is fatigued, and we all want to pandemic to be over. But now is not the time to let up on our efforts.”
“The North End has anxiously awaited a large-scale vaccination site. Especially for our seniors and those with limited mobility – the accessibility of North Seattle College means folks can get to their vaccination appointments quickly and safely. North Seattle College has been a consistent partner with the City of Seattle, and I’m pleased to see them once again be a resource for the North End,” said Councilmember Debora Juarez (District 5, North Seattle).
“I am grateful that the City of Seattle is lowering barriers to north end residents needing a convenient and accessible vaccination site. Lack of access to a low-barrier vaccination site in the north end has been a hardship on our seniors, and those without access to transportation. Vaccination rates for those 75 and older have lagged much of the county as a result. Now we are seeing a sharp rise in infections. This site will save lives,” said King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski (District 1).
“I’m grateful to North Seattle College, Seattle Visiting Nurse Association and the City of Seattle for expanding COVID-19 vaccine distribution capacity. To date, we’ve had a big gap between the number of people eligible to be vaccinated and the number of vaccine doses available. We anticipate vaccine supplies increasing in the coming weeks so this site will be so valuable as that supply increases,“ said Patty Hayes, Director of Public Health – Seattle & King County
The Community Vaccination Hub at North Seattle College will initially administer 1,170 vaccinations per week, which is approximately 390 vaccinations per day of operation. Should supply increase, the site is able to administer 6,400 vaccinations weekly. It is primarily a drive-through site, but it can also accommodate walk-ups. Patients can enter the campus using the 95th Street entrance immediately off of College Way. The vaccination hub will initially operate three days per week, Wednesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. As supply increases, the days and hours of operation will increase.
“Seattle Visiting Nurse Association is the largest community mass immunizer in Washington state. We specialize in on-site vaccination clinics for workplaces, schools, and communities all throughout Washington state. SVNA is recognized as a qualified community immunizer by the Washington State Department of Health, and Public Health Seattle, and King/Snohomish County Health Districts. Our traveling nurses are all W2 employees, licensed to practice nursing in the State of Washington and have years of immunization experience. We are thrilled to be able to work with North Seattle College and the City of Seattle to bring this vaccination hub to the North End of our community,” said Greg Curry, Chief Operating Officer at SVNA.
“We are at one of the most crucial moments in history. Beating the virus and rebuilding Seattle’s economy needs a collective response from all of us. President Crawford and I are glad that North Seattle College has this opportunity to partner with the City and health care professionals by offering a vaccination site in North Seattle. We are deeply grateful to all who are working hard for the safety of everyone in Seattle,” said Dr. Shouan Pan, Chancellor, Seattle Colleges
Community-based organizations serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, older adults, and immigrants and refugees will be given advance registration access to this site, and Washington State Department of Health (DOH) eligible members of the public can sign up now for the City’s vaccination appointment notification list. Once eligible members of the public sign up for the City’s notification list, they will receive an email notification when vaccination appointments become available at any of the four City-affiliated fixed sites: North Seattle, Rainier Beach, West Seattle, and the Lumen Field Event Center.
The notification list is available here, and residents can also contact the Customer Service Bureau at 206-684-2489 from Monday through Saturday, between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. for assistance completing this form. In-language assistance is available over the phone.
“We’re glad there will be a fixed vaccination site in North Seattle, it’s long due. When we organized a pop up event in coordination with the City and Eritrean Kidisti Selassie, we witnessed the huge need for that in our area, LCC alone had over 270 signed up in that one afternoon. This site will be an important step for BIPOC communities in the north end who are often invisible, but we are here, and our families will not have to go all the way to downtown, to South Seattle or way beyond that, to places we have never been to, or cannot get to. A combination of a fixed locations and pop events in dense neighborhoods will ensure the vaccine reaches our communities,” said Lake City Co-Directors Cesar Garcia and Peggy Hernandez.
March 29 – April 4 Plan for City’s Fixed Vaccination Sites
This week, the Community Vaccination Site at the Lumen Field Event Center operated by Swedish and the City of Seattle will administer nearly 5,000 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine Wednesday, March 31. In addition to this dose one clinic, the City and Swedish are partnering on a dose two clinic on April 3, for approximately 2,300 people.
The Community Testing and Vaccination Hubs in Rainier Beach and West Seattle, operated by the Seattle Fire Department (SFD), will administer approximately 8,710 doses of vaccine this week. The SFD community hubs operate six days per week and have the ability to administer up to 1,000 vaccinations per day, per site. The Community Vaccination Hub at North Seattle College, operated by SVNA, will administer approximately 1,170 doses of vaccine this week.
March 29 – April 4 Plan for SFD Mobile Vaccination Teams (MVT)
This week, the SFD MVTs will administer approximately 1,900 vaccinations to older adults living in affordable housing buildings throughout Seattle. The SFD MVTs are also partnering with several community-based organizations that primarily serve BIPOC communities to host dose two pop-up vaccination clinics.
Seattle vaccination efforts have resulted in 49,794 vaccinations (over 39,000 individuals) of eligible vulnerable residents and workers since January 14. These vaccinations have occurred at 88 Adult Family Homes, 83 affordable housing buildings with seniors and people with disabilities, 15 community vaccination events, and community hubs at Rainier Beach and West Seattle, and the Lumen Field Event Center. At the most recent City pop-ups, 244 residents received vaccinations in the Little Saigon neighborhood and 325 residents at the Idris Mosque in North Seattle. Roughly 55 percent of those vaccinated by the City identify as BIPOC communities.
For more information, including the notification list, visit the City’s vaccination website at www.seattle.gov/vaccine. The site contains vaccination information in seven languages, and in-language assistance is also available over the phone.
Even as more residents get vaccinated, public health measures like social distancing, wearing a mask, and washing your hands remain critical. Please continue to follow all public health guidance, and visit this website from Public Health – Seattle & King County for more information.
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