Haines Health Center offering COVID-19 vaccine to all adult patients

A health care worker at Bartlett Regional Hospital prepare doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 15, 2020 in Juneau, Alaska (screenshot of Bartlett Regional Hospital video)

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium is now offering COVID-19 vaccines to anyone over the age of 18 in Haines who wants one. Vaccinations for the expanded pool of patients will begin this week.

Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium recently received a large shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from the Indian Health Service.

SEARHC Haines Health Center clinic administrator Stephanie Pattison says they are slated for remote communities in the region.

“SEARHC has chosen to distribute those out to communities that do not have immediate access to hospitals. That is one of the reasons why Haines received 600 doses of vaccine [Wednesday] that we will distribute on Friday and Saturday.”

Pattison says currently there are 619 people in Haines who have requested a vaccine using SEARHC’s online form. They will receive emails or calls to schedule appointments. Staff will be administering vaccines on Friday and Saturday.

The clinic had planned to distribute vaccines in phases to different priority groups in Haines. With this latest shipment of Moderna brand vaccines, Pattison says they have enough to vaccinate anyone who wants a shot.

“We’re going down the line, starting at our first responders, 80 and older. We’re starting at the top of our sequencing and working our way all the way down to the bottom of our sequencing,” Pattison says. “Anyone who wants a vaccine should be able to get one.”

Over 300 people have already received COVID-19 vaccine doses in Haines. The first batch was reserved for frontline health care workers, emergency responders, long term care facility staff and elders.

Pattison says that while anyone can request a vaccine online, SEARHC will only schedule appointments for registered patients. Anyone who hasn’t used the clinic’s services before will need to fill out some paperwork before they can get a shot.

Requests for a vaccine can be made here. For assistance requesting a vaccine in Haines call the clinic at 907-766-6300.

KHNS - Haines

KHNS is our partner station in Haines. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

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