Clayton Franke
The Daily World
Several local organizations, along with the Washington Department of Health (DOH), have partnered to bring mobile COVID vaccines and other health services to Ocean Shores at an upcoming event.
On Thursday, Oct. 20, the Care-A-Van, a mobile COVID vaccination clinic provided by the DOH, along with the MAV (Mobile Assistance Van), will be parked at the Lions Club Park next to the Lions Club at 832 Ocean Shores Blvd NW from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Care-A-Van will provide bivalent boosters for both children and adults, as well as first and second doses of the vaccine. A $50 incentive is available for those receiving their first or second dose, according to a press release from Michelle Fogus, contract specialist with the Olympic Area Agency on Aging (O3A). Incentives have not been approved for boosters.
Not only will the event provide vaccines, but will feature the launch of a new health project in Grays Harbor County. O3A, North Beach Senior Center and the Arc of Grays Harbor partnered to provide the MAV, which will see its inaugural service on Oct. 20. The upcoming event is the first of a larger tour in which, once a month, the MAV will take food items, COVID information and supplies and resource assistance to underserved communities around Grays Harbor.
According to Fogus, the van will be onsite along with the Care-A-Van, which the DOH provided for this event, as part of a monthly service event hosted by North Beach Project Connect.
Fogus said the event has also received support from the Grays Harbor County Public Health Department, the Church of Latter-day-Saints and a Seattle non-profit called Village Reach.
The MAV is funded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention through the state Department of Health, according to Fogus.
Jeff Moyer, executive director of the North Beach Senior Center, located and purchased the van — which is currently on its way to Grays Harbor from Arkansas — after several months of delay due to supply chain issues. Moyer and Fogus said the van will soon embark on a service-providing tour to the outlying areas of Grays Harbor County, such as South Beach, North Beach, Oakville, Taholah, Quinault, Amanda Park, Neilton and Humptulips, although official events haven’t yet been scheduled.
Fogus said the schedule will be posted to www.o3a.org/mav once available, and that the MAV is hoping to partner with the Care-A-Van for future events.
For those planning on receiving vaccines on Oct. 20, preregistration is recommended but not required at www.prepmod.doh.wa.gov/appointment/en/client/registration?clinic_id=18773
• Contact reporter Clayton Franke at 406-552-3917 or clayton.franke@thedailyworld.com
