SPOKANE, Wash. — Appointments are available for CHAS Health's COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Gonzaga for Thursday, March 4 through Saturday March 6.
Teachers with Spokane Public Schools are encouraged to attend the clinic to get their first dose of the vaccine.
According to SPS Director of Communications Sandra Jarrad, CHAS is also heading up vaccine clinics at Rogers, Ferris and Shadle High Schools for teachers in need of a second dose of the vaccine. The clinic at Shadle was open Wednesday night, the clinic at Rogers is Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Ferris will hold one Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Jarrad said by the end of the week 900 staff members will be vaccinated.
CHAS updated patients on social media Thursday about the clinic. CHAS asks patients to confirm their eligibility on Washington's PhaseFinder website before scheduling an appointment on the CHAS Health website.
Anyone getting an appointment time must be a registered patient, or register as a patient to qualify.
CHAS Health began vaccinating patients starting Friday, Feb. 26, CHAS at Gonzaga’s Field House in the Martin Centre or in the parking lots adjacent to the McCarthey Athletic Center and the School of Law.
In an announcement from the university, school leaders said extra traffic is expected to create congestion in the area of Trent, Cincinnati and Hamilton Streets. Campus parking lots next to McCarthey Athletic Center and the Law School will be discouraged while the clinic is open. They expect up to 1,300 visitors daily.
Gonzaga leaders said they applied through the state to become a point of distribution for the vaccine. CHAS will be coordinating directly with their patients on scheduling their appointment.
CHAS Health previously ran the mass vaccination clinic at the Spokane Arena until the Washington State Department of Health took over. CHAS was identified to lead operations at the clinic after Gov. Jay Inslee's announcement about one week before its opening since the company already had plans in place for the arena. The health care company has received assistance from the DOH and Washington National Guard members from the beginning.
DOH expects to be fully leading operations at the mass vaccine clinic in Spokane by March 1, according to Spokane Regional Health District spokesperson Kelli Hawkins. SRHD and CHAS do not yet have details on how the appointment scheduling process will change and DOH is expected to release that information.
The shift to DOH leading operations at the clinic means other local providers will be included in the work to vaccinate community members, CHAS Health spokesperson Kelley Charvet said. CHAS will continue to provide operational support and staff for the site even when the DOH takes over, she added.
KREM staff members contributed to this report.