What is Amazon's 'pop-up vaccination clinic'? Here's how company plans to vaccinate 45,000 people in a day
Amazon is all set to open a “pop-up” vaccination site in Seattle, Washington over the weekend in an effort to inoculate thousands of people, Governor Jay Inslee said on Thursday, January 21. Governor Inslee made the announcement in a press conference with Amazon Senior VP of Global Corporate Affairs Jay Carney and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health co-CEO Dr Gary Kaplan on January 21.
The news came after on Wednesday, January 20, Amazon offered to assist US President Joe Biden in his vow to get 100 million Covid-19 vaccinations to Americans in his first 100 days of office. “We are prepared to leverage our operations, information technology, and communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration’s vaccination efforts,” wrote the CEO of Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer division, Dave Clark, in a letter to Biden. “Our scale allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the fight against COVID-19, and we stand ready to assist you in this effort.”
The vaccine is now available for people in groups Phase 1A and Phase 1B Tier 1. Phase 1A includes high-risk health care workers and long-term care residents, and the first tier of Phase 1B, which includes people over 65 and people over 50 who live in multigenerational households. To find out whether you qualify, the Department of Health has set up a website called Phase Finder.
What is Amazon's 'pop-up vaccination clinic'?
The one-day clinic will be open on Sunday, January 24, with the goal of administering 2,000 vaccines to the public. The clinic will distribute the vaccine to healthcare workers, first responders and people 65 years and older. The state’s goal is to vaccinate 45,000 people a day. The clinic will be held at the Amazon Meeting Center, which is located at, 2031 7th Ave, Seattle, WA, from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. The vaccine is being administered for free and those who get the vaccine will be scheduled for their follow-up of the second dose to be administered in a few weeks. Virginia Mason is handling vaccine administration, while Amazon is providing the location and help with logistics.
Where to signup/ register for the clinic?
To sign up for Sunday's clinic, you can register to put your name on a list on Virginia Mason's website.
Another tech giant Microsoft is also turning its campus into a vaccination site. Microsoft has announced that it is providing the state with technical expertise and support as part of the new Washington State Vaccine Command and Coordination Center. The state has a goal of vaccinating 45,000 per day; it is currently at about 16,000 per day.
