SEATTLE (AP) - Seattle’s new COVID-19 vaccination site aims to administer as many as 22,000 shots per day if supply allows, but it’s starting more modestly.
King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Swedish Health Services CEO Guy Hudson welcomed the first patients as the site opened Saturday at the Lumen Field Event Center.
Durkan said the site will initially vaccinate around 5,000 people per week, but could eventually handle 150,000 per week, or about 22,000 per day, if enough vaccine is available. That would make it one of the country’s largest mass vaccination sites.
The site was being staffed by an army of volunteers, including doctors, nurses and dentists. Live remote translation was available for more than 20 languages via portable video monitors.
The vaccines are available by appointment only to King County residents who are eligible under state guidelines, including those over 65 and teachers, child care workers and first responders.
The Washington Department of Health announced Saturday that the four state-led mass-vaccination sites - in Spokane, Ridgefield, Wenatchee and Kennewick - have now administered more than 110,000 doses.
More than 2.2 million of Washington’s roughly 7.7 million residents have been vaccinated, according to state data.
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