PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Healthcare is switching gears from its COVID-19 mass vaccination drive-through clinic to offering the shot to walk-ins and for appointments at its various clinics.
The hospital’s last first-dose drive-through clinic was on Wednesday, and its last second-dose drive-through clinic will be June 9, the hospital announced Friday.
Starting today, anyone can walk into the Jefferson Healthcare Express Clinic without an appointment to receive the one-shot Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, said Amy Yaley, hospital spokesperson, in a press release Friday.
Starting on Thursday, patients with a Jefferson Healthcare Primary Care provider can receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot immediately after a regularly scheduled Primary Care appointment at any of the three Port Townsend Primary Care offices, Yaley said.
Those patients will have the opportunity to choose from either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, which require two doses taken three weeks and four weeks apart, respectively, or the one-dose J&J vaccine, Yaley said.
“Both opportunities are an extension of our commitment to vaccinate our community,” she said.
“Options that offer added convenience, like walk-in and pop-up clinics in various locations throughout the community, will bring us closer to herd immunity,” Yaley said.
Patients of the Jefferson Healthcare Port Ludlow Primary Care and South County Clinic will have access to the vaccines in the coming weeks as hospital staff members work through finishing logistical planning for those clinics, Yaley said.
Since December, Jefferson Healthcare has administered more than 24,000 vaccines to community members, she said.
At last report, Jefferson County has had 62.67 percent of its total population starting the vaccination process, with 70.46 percent of residents 16 and older starting vaccination, according to the state’s dashboard.
Jefferson County has 56.61 percent of its population fully vaccinated, with 63.65 percent of people 16 and older fully vaccinated, according to state data.
Jefferson County is first in the state for residents fully vaccinated, while San Juan County is first for residents starting vaccination, the state data show.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
