Some most vulnerable to COVID-19 hoping for herd immunity as most Washingtonians become eligible May 1

What you need to know about securing a spot for the vaccine

Next week the state will get the largest amount of vaccines that it has ever received.

BELLEVUE, Wash. - In five weeks, anyone over 16 in Washington state will qualify to get the vaccine, and state health experts are asking people who will be eligible for the vaccine on May 1 to wait until then to actually book the appointment.

They say the demand is still high for people who are eligible right now.

Some encouraging news is that next week the state will get the largest supply of vaccines they’ve ever received. For people waiting, it’s hopeful news, but others already vaccinated say it’s good news for them too.

Milton Moorhead said although he’s vaccinated, the world hasn’t opened up for him yet.

"We are still being cautious. My wife and I are both over 80; getting the virus is scary," Moorhead said.

Moorhead can’t wait to walk onto a plane one day but he said he won’t feel comfortable traveling until most of the public is vaccinated.

He’s relieved that anyone in Washington over 16 years old can try to get the shot starting May 1 because he is hoping for herd immunity.

"There are places in other parts of the country that don’t want to get vaccinated," Rayan Krishnan said.

Krishnan is a Stanford University student taking courses online in Western Washington during the pandemic. He personally can’t wait to get a vaccine but the question of herd immunity is still up in the air.

"I’m slightly worried but I think they will be convinced by other societal structures like needing vaccines to come back to work or go to college campuses," Krishnan said.

Meanwhile, some say young people could be motivated to get the shot as soon as possible for social reasons.

"People on dating sites will definitely want to get the vaccine as soon as possible and that is something they would immediately put on their profile," Sorush Arjomandi said.

Whatever the incentives may be, May 1 could not come soon enough for many in Western Washington.

"It’s very hard to find, I’ve been online for hours looking for Johnson & Johnson," Angela McLean said.

Next week, Washington will receive more than 400,000 doses. The shipment will include more than 42,000 doses of the J&J vaccine. In previous weeks the state received around 5,000 doses of J & J.

"Johnson & Johnson is more broad-spectrum rather than more specified and all the variants that’s why I am going for the Johnson & Johnson," McLean said.

Starting March 31, the expectation is that more tiers of people will become eligible. This includes people 16 years and older with 2 or more underlying health conditions and anyone 60 years and older.

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