TUKWILA, Wash. — On Friday, people in need had a chance to be vaccinated at the Tukwila Pantry. The food bank is located at Riverton Park United Methodist Church.
Families come three times a week for food. Pastor Jan Bolerjack teamed up with Medical Teams International for the vaccination clinic on Friday.
“They feel they can come and trust what they’re getting here is good for them,” said Pastor Bolerjack. “Our folks come here to get food three times a week, so to offer the vaccine at the same place at the same time with the same people, I’m hoping is very comfortable for them.”
In January, Medical Teams International worked with Pro Refrigeration in Auburn to outfit their mobile unit with a freezer so they could qualify as a vaccine provider.
Today, people were given the Moderna vaccine. Medical Teams International has been focused on vaccinating those most at risk, including people who seek services at local shelters.
“Our job here is to help communities who have had trouble with internet access, or not being able to go to certain locations to get vaccines,” said Amanda Giron, a nurse clinic manager with Medical Teams International.
“We’re very passionate about making people feel comfortable, answering any questions they may have about it.”
People were given flyers and could sign up by calling or using a QR code. They also were able to vaccinate people who walked up without an appointment.
“We always watch for other opportunities to serve our community, so vaccines seemed like an obvious thing,” said Pastor Bolerjack.
On Friday, Dr. Jeff Duchin of Public Health Seattle and King County said the county was at risk of rolling back to Phase 2 on May 3. He said the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations is likely to be too high to stay in Phase 3.
“What concerns me is there are still so many vulnerable people, two-thirds of our adults are not yet fully vaccinated, and there’s a lot of virus spreading. There’s a potential for many, many more people to become sick,” said Dr. Duchin.
Dr. Duchin encouraged people to get vaccinated as soon as they could. King County announced they had open appointments at the mass vaccination sites in Kent and Auburn.