Mayor Jenny A. Durkan today announced that the new Community Vaccination Site at the Lumen Field Event Center will open this Sat., March 13, 2021. The site is a collaboration between the City of Seattle, First & Goal Inc., and Swedish. The site will initially vaccinate around 5,000 people each week, but could vaccinate 150,000 people each week – or 22,000 per day – at full capacity, if supply is available.
“This pandemic is a once-in-a-generation challenge. It’s not something that any individual or organization can face alone. It will take all of us – from health care providers, to philanthropy, to community-based organizations, and all levels of government – using all the tools at our disposal to equitably vaccinate our communities,” said Mayor Durkan. “We must have a multi-faceted approach to reach population immunity here in Seattle and across our state. Our equity-focused community hubs will meet our most vulnerable communities where they are. Our new, mass vaccination site at the Lumen Field Event Center is crucial to vaccinating nearly 1.5 million adults countywide. I’m grateful to our partners at First & Goal Inc. and Swedish, as well as Governor Inslee and Executive Constantine for their commitment to bringing this site online. I know everyone is fatigued, and we all want the pandemic to be over. But hope is on the horizon, and now is not the time to let up on our efforts.”
“Every mass vaccination site in this state represents a significant step forward in getting Washingtonians out of this global pandemic, and the one at Lumen Field Event Center is no exception,” said Governor Jay Inslee. “This new site will serve hundreds of thousands people, which will not only greatly benefit King County residents, but the vaccination delivery system for the whole state. I thank Mayor Durkan, King County Executive Constantine, Seattle King County Public Health for their leadership throughout the pandemic, and I look forward to continued partnership to get as many people as possible vaccinated.”
“First & Goal Inc. have been great partners in our region-wide efforts to defeat the virus, and I want to thank them for continuously stepping up and being a part of our response,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “We’re all used to cheering touchdowns, goals, and concerts at Lumen Field, and hosting one of the biggest vaccination sites in the country is another remarkable achievement worth shouting about - one that will support our community and region as we work to get every person in King County vaccinated.”
“We are proud to serve our community with such an urgent public health need through our partnership with the City,” said Dr. R. Guy Hudson, Swedish Chief Executive Officer. “The lessons we learned standing up our mass vaccination clinic in partnership with Seattle University, helped at this site. We know what can be achieved through the power of community and collaboration. Our Swedish team looks forward to supporting in a clinical role as we continue to recover from the impacts of this pandemic.”
“Lumen Field is a place where the community gathers to experience exhilarating events together, and throughout the challenges of the past year we’ve been proud to use our vast stadium and event center space and resources to serve the community in this great time of need,” said David Young, Seattle Seahawks Senior Vice President of Business Operations, and General Manager of Lumen Field. “We are grateful to the City of Seattle for entrusting us to host this mass vaccine site, as well as to the incredible healthcare workers, volunteers and everyone involved in this undertaking as we work together to stop the pandemic.”
At the direction of Mayor Durkan, the City of Seattle's department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) is managing and operationalizing the overall vaccination effort at the Lumen Field Event Center, Swedish will provide clinical support along with other resources and supplies, and First & Goal Inc. is providing the facility rent-free along with complimentary parking for attendees in the Lumen Field garage. While this site will be largely Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursable and is supported by Public Health – Seattle & King County and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), the City does not rely on federal staffing or National Guard staffing. Across the nation, FEMA has focused on 18 community vaccination centers in major metropolitan areas with the highest case rates in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Carolina, and Texas.
With existing vaccine supply, the Lumen Field Event Center will initially operate two to three days a week, and will vaccinate approximately 5,000 people per week. Understanding the outlook of supply will likely remain limited for March, the City is prepared to significantly ramp up in April and May into the summer. At full capacity, the site could vaccinate nearly 22,000 people per day, or 150,000 people per week. The site’s high throughput is the result of the number of vaccine stations coupled with estimated time per vaccination. FAS has ordered over 15,000 pieces of equipment to transform the 190,000 square foot event center into a mass vaccination site.
“Having this large, highly accessible vaccination site, and the ability to scale it up rapidly, will form a crucial link in our efforts to roll out vaccines quickly and equitably -- starting with those who are most at risk and most impacted by COVID-19,” said Patty Hayes, Director, Public Health – Seattle & King County. “As vaccine supplies increase, we have the capacity in place to get shots out to everyone who wants one and take a huge step toward turning the tide on the pandemic.”
“There’s no way to overstate the scope, magnitude and the stakes of launching this site, and I could not be prouder of the FAS teams and all of our City colleagues who worked so diligently to stand it up. This site will expand critical vaccine access to our residents and it will save lives. The new Community Vaccination Site will also be pivotal to our City’s recovery and serve as a statewide and even national model for other municipalities attempting a similar undertaking,” said Calvin W. Goings, Director of the Finance and Administrative Services department.
Vaccination appointments at the Lumen Field Event Center will be prioritized for community-based organizations serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, older adults, and immigrants and refugees, but DOH-eligible members of the public will be able to register for a vaccination at this site. To ensure this site aligns with the City’s equity goals, the City has opened up registration to community-based and faith-based organizations serving BIPOC communities in Lake City, the Central District, and the Chinatown-International District, who are likely not being served by the Rainier Beach and West Seattle community hubs.
Eligible King County residents can sign up for this subscriber list and will be notified via email when appointments become available for upcoming clinics. Only King County residents are eligible because currently doses are allocated to King County based on population; however, if supply exists in future months, this site could become a regional hub.
“The Chinatown-International District has the highest concentration of elderly in the city. Most are low income and limited English speaking, and accessing the COVID-19 vaccine is extremely challenging. That’s why it’s critical that we have this new mass vaccination site so close to the Chinatown-International District,” said Maiko Winkler-Chin, Executive Director of SCIDpda. “We partnered with the Seattle Fire Department to vaccinate hundreds of our low-income, high-risk elders who live in the Chinatown ID, and we are glad to work with the City of Seattle again to register residents and CID business employees for a vaccination at Lumen.”
The Lumen Field Event Center is the building adjacent to Lumen Field. Parking at the Lumen Field parking garage will be free for volunteers and patients getting vaccinated, and the site is also connected to several King County Metro bus routes and Link light rail. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations are available on-site, and translation services are available on-site in over 200 languages. Patients must have an appointment to be vaccinated at the site; walk-ins will not be accommodated.
In addition to the Lumen Field Event Center, the City of Seattle – through the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) also operates two high-capacity vaccination sites in Rainier Beach and West Seattle that are currently distributing between 250-400 vaccines daily with the capacity for 1,000 daily. SFD continues to vaccinate highly vulnerable people each week through its Mobile Vaccination Teams.
Since launching its vaccination effort on Jan. 14, the City of Seattle has administered 14,890 vaccinations to eligible vulnerable adults. The City has provided 12,229 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 2,661 second doses. These vaccinations have occurred at 86 Adult Family Homes, 49 affordable housing buildings with seniors, 10 pop-ups, and the city’s two community hubs. Roughly 70% of those vaccinated by the City identify as BIPOC communities.
For more information, visit the City’s vaccination website. The site contains vaccination information in seven languages, and in-language assistance is also available over the phone.
To locate a vaccination site near you, visit the Washington State Department of Health Vaccine Locator website or call the Washington State Department of Health at 1-800-525-0127 and press #.
Select Swedish clinics are now offering Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to our patients, to learn more visit www.swedish.org/covid-19.
