MONROE, Wash. — More than 25,000 Snohomish County residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine but getting that second dose isn't guaranteed, residents are discovering.
Erik emailed KING 5’s Vaccine Taskforce saying: “I received my first dose of Moderna vaccine in mid-January, however the website for the vaccination site (Evergreen Fairgrounds in Monroe) did not have the ability to make a reservation for the follow-up dose.”
We also heard from Judy who reached out: “I was lucky enough to get the Moderna vaccine at the Evergreen Fairgrounds this week, but they told me that it was up to us to find a place to get the second dose.”
“It’s very important to get the second dose. I mean, that’s the way the trials were done, that’s where the high efficacy is,” said vaccine expert Dr. Larry Corey at Fred Hutch.
So, what if you can’t find a place to get your second dose?
There’s no guarantee you’ll be protected from the virus after just the first shot, according to Corey.
“We have really no knowledge of really how much protection you have with that single first dose,” he said. “The longer you wait, the more we’re in a data free zone. Please get the second dose. It is the dose that will really protect you and provide durability in that protection.”
KING 5 reached out to the Snohomish Health District asking about the situation with second doses, and they sent us a press release saying supplies are extremely limited for people trying to get their first dose in the county let alone their second dose.
“The Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce is working on a process to register people for their second dose to ensure the brand of vaccine currently offered matches what an individual received for their first dose,” a statement read.