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McKinney Nominated for State Board of Health
Yakima and Eastern Washington remains under phase 1 of the state s reopening plan. The Yakima County Commissioners continue to push Governor Jay Inslee to open up Eastern and Central Washington in phase 2. As that work continues Yakima County may soon have a voice on the Washington State Board of Health. The Board of Directors of the Washington State Association of Counties has formally nominated Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney on behalf of Washington State Association of Counties for consideration and appointment to the State Board of Health. Local officials say having a voice on the Washington State Board of Health could help the area open up more because McKinney could explain and possibly help the board understand the unique circumstances facing Eastern and Central Washington State.
The Latest From the Commissioners On Vaccine Availability Update
There is an awful lot of confusion out there about the availability of the Coronavirus vaccine so we thought we would have a quick conversation with Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney and get the latest.
First thing.the Governor says more vaccine is headed to Washington state and it is sorely needed even though as of Monday 1/25/21 over a half million does has already been given out with 13,500 of those in Yakima County.
Second thing,,, the demand is overwhelming. The Washington State Department of Health figures the 65 and over population to be around 1-point-1 million individuals with another 300-thousand persons over 50 living in multigenerational homes, all eligible to receive the vaccine.
County Close to Opening Mass Vaccination Site
Yakima County officials say they re close to opening a mass vaccination site at State Fair Park. Officials from Yakima County, Yakima Valley Emergency Management , Yakima Health District, State Fair Park, Signal Health, and many other community partners are nearing completion of a drive through mass vaccination clinic but they say it won t be open until early or mid-February. The problem right now? Not enough vaccine is available. When it is available the goal is to vaccinate up to 500 people in the Yakima Valley everyday.
Commissioner LaDon Linde says “we are appreciative of the foresight and leadership shown by our local emergency management and health district staff. It shows again that local leadership can do things best, as they are closest to the situation and know the community and its resources.”
The 2021 edition of the Yakima County Commission, consisting of Ron Anderson, Ladon Linde and Amanda McKinney, is taking a more aggressive approach to pushing back against Governor Inslee s Covid-19 restrictions.
A recently released proclamation makes it clear that management by local officials is more effective than the action taken so far by the Governor -
the Board of County Commissioners concludes that local official governmental management of preventing community transmission spread, not sweeping state proclamations creating arbitrary regional boundaries over which we have no authority, is and remains the primary means of ensuring healthcare facility readiness by positively interacting with citizens to reduce the risk of what is proven to be the leading source of infection spread – casual social gatherings where prevention measures are not adhered to