Washington recruits Starbucks, other private partners to boost vaccine rollout for seniors

(The Center Square) — Washington is teaming up with America’s largest coffee chain and other corporate giants to vaccinate its elder residents, Gov. Jay Inslee said on Monday.

The new partnership is part of Inslee’s goal of vaccinating 45,000 people against COVID-19 per day—up from its current average of 14,300—and moving the state to the next phase of vaccinations.

Nine organizations will help the state achieve this new benchmark, Inslee said.

They include Microsoft, which will offer technical support for the rollout; retail giant Costco, which will be delivering vaccines to local pharmacies; and the National Guard, which will provide logistics and infrastructure support.

Health care insurance company Kaiser Permanente will also help plan vaccination clinics and vaccine distribution for local health care providers.

Coffee giant Starbucks’ role is less clear. It is described by the governor’s office as “operational efficiency, scalable modeling and human-centered design expertise and support.”

Further, Inslee said four major vaccination sites will be set up around the state: Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Clark County Fairgrounds in Ridgefield, the Benton County Fairgrounds in Kennewick, and Spokane Arena in Spokane.

Since late December 31, the state of 7.6 million people has been in the middle of Phase 1a, which includes health care workers, people in long-term care facilities, and first responders.

On Monday, the 69-year-old governor announced Phase 1b is now a go. Its first of four tiers will see seniors like himself receive priority vaccinations starting at age 65—down from age 70 as originally planned.

In 2019, about 16% of the state’s population were age 65 or older, the state’s Office of Financial Management reports.

Phase 1b’s three other tiers include people age 50 and up working in high-risk congregate settings like grocery stores, schools, and homeless shelters.

Washington school districts have largely resorted to virtual instruction since the pandemic began in lieu of a state mandate to do so.

Teachers unions have made it clear to the state they openly oppose reopening classrooms until a wider range of school staff and children are vaccinated.

Scientists are divided on whether children—who the FDA has not recommended for vaccinations—can spread the virus at similar rates to adults.

Inslee reconfirmed on Monday that people 50 and up living in “multigenerational households” will also be eligible for Phase 1b, though no concrete definitions for the demographic were offered by the governor. According to Inslee, the state will advance to later tiers in Phase 1b only once at least 50% of people in a prior tier receive vaccinations.

“We are removing as many impediments as possible to Washingtonians getting vaccinated, we are going to deliver every dose that comes into our state,” Inslee said. “We will still be dependent on the federal government for doses, but we are doing everything we can once it gets here.”

Washingtonians can look up their eligibility with the Washington Department of Health’s online Phase Finder tool, which crashed for a time following Inslee’s Monday afternoon press briefing.

Washington has seen one of the slower COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in the country since doses from Pfizer and Moderna were distributed to the states in December.

As of Sunday, CDC data showed Washington had administered about 35% of its vaccines, placing it behind Oregon, Texas, Alaska, and a dozen other states. As a result, Inslee also announced on Monday that all vaccine providers in the state must administer all doses received the prior week by January 24. They must use 95% of all vaccines received going forward within a week of receipt.

Health officials around the world have expressed concern that new variants of the COVID-19 virus could soon be spreading more quickly.

On Saturday, the University of Portland reported that a new strain of the virus first discovered in the United Kingdom, B.1.1.7, made landfall in Oregon after one of its staff members with no travel history tested positive for it on Friday.

The strain has been reported in 10 states including California and Colorado.

A recent CDC report concludes the new strain may be more contagious than previous COVID-19 strains, but it is unknown if it induces different or deadlier symptoms.

Inslee’s announcement follows word on Thursday that states will not receive any extra vaccines as promised by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar just days before.

The development drew outrage from U.S. governors around the country who say they received no advance notice or substantive explanation about the change.

President-elect Joe Biden announced on Friday he intends to accelerate the nation’s vaccine rollout by setting up mass vaccination sites with the help of the National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

According to CDC data, around 10.5 million people in the country have received at least one vaccine dose and 1.6 million more people have received two doses.

Since Saturday, Washington has seen 277,404 confirmed cases and 3,903 deaths from the virus to date, according to the Washington Department of Health.

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