April 6, 2021 — Gov. Jay Inslee is being joined by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Rep. Kim Schrier on a tour of the new FEMA Community Vaccination Center in Yakima on Tuesday.
Inslee will also meet with representatives of the Yakima Valley’s Latinx and farmworker communities.
The COVID-19 vaccination center at the Central Washington State Fair Park is the state’s first federal mass vaccination site. It opened March 31 and is expected to administer about 1,200 doses of vaccine per day. That’s according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which operates the site along with state and local officials.
The program also includes mobile vaccination units serving surrounding communities.
Vaccine is delivered to the site directly from the federal government rather than from the state’s weekly allocation.
The additional doses will help vaccinate more Washingtonians, including those in rural and agricultural communities that have been particularly hard-hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emhoff started visit at the Yakama Nation Tuesday morning, where Tribal Chair Delano Saluskin explained the toll of pandemic has taken.
Emhoff said the Biden administration is sensitive to the effect the pandemic has had on Native American communities.
“This is why President Biden has taken bold, bold steps to address the pandemic,” he said.
Emhoff and Vice President Kamala Harris have been part of the efforts to promote the American Rescue Plan, including the Recovery Act which provides $31 billion for assistance to Native communities.
