Seattle to close four vaccination sites as city's vaccination rate soars
SEATTLE - The city of Seattle will close four vaccination sites in June, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Wednesday.
The four sites - Lumen Field Event Center, North Seattle College, Rainier Beach and West Seattle - have helped the city to administer more than 230,000 shots. More than 76 percent of Seattle residents 12 and older have started the vaccination process and more than 60 percent are fully vaccinated, the city said.
Lumen Field's mass vaccination site, which opened in March as the country's largest civilian-run operation, will close June 12. The vaccine hubs at Rainier Beach and West Seattle will close June 23 and June 9, respectively.
Seattle's vaccination rate is the second highest in the nation, according to the mayor's office. San Francisco ranks first, but officials there have not begun tracking vaccinations of 12-15-year-olds.
"Now that the vast majority of Seattleites have begun the vaccination process, we are able to safely reopen and recover as a city – without the need for our fixed sites," Durkan said.
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Three of the four fixed sites - Lumen Field, Rainier Beach and West Seattle - will continue to give first and second doses until they close.
First and second doses will also be administered at the Seattle Fire Department's testing and vaccination site in the SODO neighborhood.
Durkan touted the city's efforts to reach BIPOC communities - who are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19-related illnesses, as a huge success. She said 48 percent of city vaccinations have been given to people who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color. That's 15 percent more than the BIPOC share of Seattle's population.
Moving forward, the Seattle Fire Department's Mobile Vaccination Teams will be the primary vaccine administrator through the summer. The focus will be on vaccinating Seattle youth.
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