Help for Tri-Cities seniors registering for COVID vaccine

Help is newly available for Tri-Cities area seniors having trouble navigating online sites to register for COVID-19 vaccination appointments or to obtain proof of eligibility.

The Richland Senior Association has started a toll-free help line. Call 800-595-4070 and leave a voicemail message with your name, phone number and what you are calling about.

A volunteer will pick up the message and call you back, says Bob Koenig, director of the nonprofit association.

“Our problem as seniors is that the system for getting the COVID-19 vaccine wasn’t designed with seniors in mind,”said Koenig in an announcement of the program.

Some seniors may not have a computer and others may have trouble navigating online registration systems.

Volunteers can help complete the online Find Your Phase form that provides the proof of eligibility required at many places giving the vaccination. It is at FindYourPhaseWA.org.

Those now eligible for the vaccine in Washington state include people 65 and older; people 50 and older in certain multigeneration households; health care workers; and residents and employees of long term care centers for the elderly.

Volunteers also can fill out registration forms for those having difficulties.

Online registration is required for appointments for most places giving the vaccines now, including the Benton County Fairgrounds drive thru, pharmacies and hospitals and medical clinics.

For more information on where COVID-19 vaccines may be available, go to bit.ly/BFHDvaccinesites.

The Washington state Department of Health also offers help for those without computer access, but wait times may be long. Call 800-525-0127, then press #, during regular business hours.

This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 12:58 PM.