Clarification of ‘combining worker groups’ when administering COVID vaccine

It seems safe to say that Washington state’s vaccine rollout hasn’t been crystal clear, in part due to changing rules, specific eligibility tiers, an uncertain supply of doses, and even a few website crashes earlier in the week for the state Department of Health.

Washington DOH data dashboard now shows COVID vaccine progress

As part of a series of changes intended to accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations statewide, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that there will be more flexibility in combining worker groups in later tiers in order to avoid wasting any doses.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) tweeted Tuesday that “all school employees will now be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time.” While that may be technically true in later tiers, all teachers are not currently eligible for vaccinations in the state. Some members of Phase 1B, tier 1, could be teachers, educators, or school staff, but they would be eligible for vaccinations due to their age or living situation at this point, not due to being an educator.

For example, a district & provider could choose to put on a vaccination clinic for school staff. Thank you @GovInslee and @WADeptHealth! You can see the revised schedule here: https://t.co/mAS86Qvj2s (2/2) #WAedu

— WA State OSPI (@waOSPI) January 19, 2021

Right now, the state is in Phase 1B, tier 1, with those eligible being anyone over 65 years of age or older, and all people 50 years and older who live in a multigenerational home. Those in Phase 1A remain eligible as well, which includes health care workers at high-risk for COVID-19 infection, first responders, people who live or work in long-term care facilities, and all other workers in health care settings who are at risk of COVID-19.

In response to OSPI, the Washington State Department of Health clarified that the guidance does allow for flexibility in combining worker groups in Phase 1B, tiers 2 and 4, “if prioritizing and vaccinating people in Tier 2 ONLY creates severe inefficiencies or might result in unused doses.”

We kept the tiers separate b/c our overall guidance still stands, based on people’s risk for severe illness & our anticipated #CovidVaccine supply. All workers in these high-risk settings would qualify, such as subs & other school staff who are at risk for #COVID19 exposure.

— WA Dept. of Health (@WADeptHealth) January 20, 2021

“The state will allow providers flexibility for Phase 1B tier 2 through tier 4 eligible individuals to allow for easier administration of the vaccine in congregate settings and workplaces to help increase the throughput,” as explained in the governor’s Medium post about the state’s vaccination changes. “Once we have administered first doses to at least 50% of the individuals in Phase 1B tier 1, we will move to Phase 1B tier 2.”

Tier 2 lists high-risk critical workers 50 years or older in certain congregate settings, which includes K-12 educators and staff, and people who work in child care. In tier 4, eligibility opens up to high-risk critical workers under 50 years of age in the same congregate settings listed in tier 2.

There has been concern about potentially wasted doses due to not having someone in the eligible tier nearby to receive a dose at the time, which the added flexibility from the state aims to avoid.

Also part of the state’s vaccination program changes announced Monday was including everyone age 65 and older in Phase 1B, tier 1. That change aligns with federal guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Find more information about the COVID-19 vaccine from the state DOH online here.