Weekly appointments for COVID vaccination open at Tri-Cities fairgrounds

Appointment openings were posted Saturday afternoon for COVID-19 vaccinations in the coming week at the Tri-Cities fairgrounds.

Only Pfizer vaccine will be given and only second doses at the Benton County fairgrounds.

Vaccine will be administered 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, through Friday, March 5, and from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 6.

Saturday the fairgrounds drive-thru clinic workers celebrated the milestone of 20,000 doses of vaccine given.

The Kennewick site is again leading the state Department of Health mass vaccination sites for productivity.

The Washington state Department of Health reported that 18,923 shots of the vaccine have been given as of Friday at the Kennewick fairgrounds, after it did double duty in the past week.

No vaccine was received two weeks ago due to snowy weather in the Eastern United States. When the site reopened this past week, it administered its allocation of vaccines for two weeks.

The Ridgefield site near Vancouver has administered 18,114 doses, the Wenatchee site has administered 17,541 doses and the Spokane site has administered 16,196 doses, as of Friday the state reported.

The Kennewick site set new records this past week for doses given in a day. On Friday and Saturday it administered more than 1,900 Pfizer and Moderna vaccines each day.

The Moderna shots were given those two days to provide second doses for people who received Moderna vaccine the first day the fairgrounds drive-thru clinic was open. All other first doses given there have been Pfizer.

The Washington state Department of Health reported on Friday afternoon that about 54,000 doses of vaccine had been administered in all of Benton and Franklin counties. Just over 14,700 residents have received both doses of the vaccine.

A second “booster” dose of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is recommended for maximum effectiveness. Both doses should be with the same brand of vaccine.

Statewide 1.5 million doses have been administered, with 487,000 people fully vaccinated, according to the state.

To register

To register for a second dose of vaccine at the Benton County fairgrounds, go to prepmod.doh.wa.gov and click on “Find a Clinic.”

On the next page scroll down to find appointments available by location and date. A second page may show more local appointments.

If you do not see any appointments listed, keep checking back for newly added appointments or any cancellations.

People who cannot register online may call the state COVID-19 Assistance Hotline at 800-525-0127 and press #.

It is staffed 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

Bring a printout or screen shot of the appointment confirmation to the fairgrounds along with the vaccination record card you received at the first appointment. The card shows the date and type of vaccine for the first dose.

Pfizer vaccine second doses may be given 21 days after the first dose, and studies show second doses may be given up to six weeks after the first dose and still be effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control. If you miss that window of time, a second dose still is recommended.

People who cannot find their card may be able to access their vaccination record at the Washington state Department of Health’s online immunization records system at wa.myir.net.

The fairgrounds will continue allowing car holding lines to form to use up any extra vaccine daily, but it will only be for people needing their second doses. They must have their vaccination record card with them. No set time is given for when the holding line forms each day.

Those trying to find a first dose of the vaccine that protects against the coronavirus may check bit.ly/BFHDvaccinesites, where the Benton Franklin Health District maintains a list of places that may be giving vaccines — primarily pharmacies, hospitals and medical clinics.

The local health district recommends that people with internet access check pharmacy web pages for vaccination availability and sign-up information to avoid overwhelming their phone lines.

The Richland Senior Association also has started a toll-free help line for people without internet access or without the computer skills to navigate online sign-up sites. Call 800-595-4070 and leave a voicemail message.

Those now eligible for the COVID vaccine in Washington state include people 65 and older; certain people 50 and older in multigenerational households; health care workers; emergency medical technicians; and those living or working in long term care facilities for the elderly.

This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 3:49 PM.