Kent, Auburn vaccination sites in King County to offer walk-in appointments, expanded hours

Two vaccination sites in King County are now offering up to 1,000 walk-in appointments per day for adults who haven't yet been vaccinated. 

People 16 and older can now walk up to the sites -- at the Kent accesso ShoWare and the Auburn Outlet Mall -- without reserving an appointment in advance and get the shot. The appointments are not restricted to people in certain zip codes. The sites are open for walk-ins Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The clinics are also working to expand their hours to offer more appointments on the weekends and later at night. The move is an effort to reach those who work during the day or may not be able to make an appointment during traditional business hours for other reasons. 

“With the increased supply of vaccine, we can now offer vaccine slots with no appointment needed. We know this can make a big difference for people with less flexible work schedules, or for those that may want to come get their vaccine with friends or family,” said Dr. Mark Del Beccaro, assistant deputy chief of COVID Testing and Immunizations at Public Health – Seattle & King County. “With the increased supply, we are now able to open up our Auburn and Kent vaccination sites for anyone in King County.”

The state has struggled with a limited supply of vaccines for months. But over the past week, vaccine clinics in Seattle and King County have had thousands of open appointments for people to sign up for right away.

By offering slots without advance appointments, people can bypass using the online system to search for open appointments. 

“Across King County we’ve had great success vaccinating older adults and others who are at higher-risk of severe COVID-19,” said Patty Hayes, Director of Public Health – Seattle & King County, in a news release.

“Now it’s the time for younger residents to get vaccinated! Vaccine providers are receiving many more vaccine doses and thousands of appointments are now available throughout King County. At our King County vaccine clinics in Auburn and Kent, we’re now offering expanded hours and walk-in sessions to make it easier for people with busy schedules to quickly get vaccinated, when it’s convenient for them.”

Officials are urging people to get vaccinated as soon as they can, calling vaccinations a key step to stopping the spread of the virus and allowing people to get back to more normal lives. 

According to the most recent data, about 64% of people in King County have received at least one dose and about 42% are fully vaccinated. That means still nearly 60% of adults in the county are not yet fully protected from the virus, making it possible for it to continue to spread in the community. The added threat of more infectious variants makes it even more dangerous.

King County, along with many areas across Washington, have seen an increase in cases and hospitalizations from the virus in recent weeks, even as vaccinations have ramped up. Over the seven days before May 2, the county was seeing an average of about 350 new coronavirus cases per day. As of April 22, King County was seeing an average of about 21 hospitalizations per day, up significantly from early March when the county was seeing about five hospitalizations per day. 

The county could be moving back to Phase 2 as it is exceeding both metrics on case rates and hospitalizations needed to remain in the third phase of the state's reopening plan. The state is expected to announce which counties will be moved back Tuesday.