December 18, 2020 7:31 am
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. Thanks to a donation, Skagit Regional Health will be able to store its anticipated shipment of COVID-19 vaccine.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports Puget Sound Energy donated a freezer that gives the facility the ability to store 975 doses of the recently-approved Pfizer vaccine, which requires a temperature of -94 degrees Fahrenheit.
The freezer had been used by PSE’s Fish and Wildlife Program as part of a study at Baker Lake.
The county’s first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive this week.
Skagit County received its first doses Thursday of the first approved COVID-19 vaccine.
Skagit Regional Health spokesperson Caitlin Svendsen said the health care provider received the first shipment to Skagit County â 975 doses. The vaccines were placed in cold storage ahead of the first inoculations, which are scheduled for Monday.
High-risk health care workers, and residents and employees of long-term care facilities â an estimated 500,000 people statewide â are in Phase 1A of the stateâs distribution plan, according to a news release from the state Department of Health.
âThe vaccine is a minor miracle that we are about to administer. We are looking forward to keeping our staff safe so they are here to care for you,â said Dr. Connie Davis, Skagit Regional Healthâs chief medical officer. âWe want to keep our commitment to take care of your health care needs and this will allow us to do so more dependably in our current pandemic environment.
While Skagit Regional Health is still awaiting a shipment of the first COVID-19 vaccine, a freezer it received as a donation Dec. 4 gives it the ability to store the vaccine.
The donation from Puget Sound Energy gives the health care provider the ability to store 975 doses of the recently-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which requires a temperature of -94 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a news release.
Pull Quote
âThis is an incredible gift â not only to Skagit Regional Health, but to our entire community.â
- Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation Executive Director Linda Frizzell
âThis is an incredible gift â not only to Skagit Regional Health, but to our entire community,â Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation Executive Director Linda Frizzell said in the release.
Skagit County received its first doses Thursday of the first approved COVID-19 vaccine.
Skagit Regional Health spokesperson Caitlin Svendsen said the health care provider received the first shipment to Skagit County â 975 doses. The vaccines were placed in cold storage ahead of the first inoculations, which are scheduled for Monday.
High-risk health care workers, and residents and employees of long-term care facilities â an estimated 500,000 people statewide â are in Phase 1A of the stateâs distribution plan, according to a news release from the state Department of Health.
âThe vaccine is a minor miracle that we are about to administer. We are looking forward to keeping our staff safe so they are here to care for you,â said Dr. Connie Davis, Skagit Regional Healthâs chief medical officer. âWe want to keep our commitment to take care of your health care needs and this will allow us to do so more dependably in our current pandemic environment.
As the potential sale of Hospice of the Northwest continues to spur debate, officials with the two hospital districts that own it say the sale is still being considered.
Skagit Regional Health CEO Brian Ivie and board President Julie Blazek said Thursday the boards of Skagit Regional Health and United General District 304 are gathering information about Bristol Hospice, and considering what a sale may mean for regional end-of-life provider Hospice of the Northwest.
âWeâre not at the decision-making process yet. We continue with information sharing and due diligence,â Ivie said.
Blazek said Skagit Regional Health board members have appreciated the public input on the potential sale, which was proposed by Bristol Hospice, a for-profit company, more than a year ago. She said many of those who have commented have voiced concerns similar to those of the board members themselves.