Tacoma Dome To Host Mass Vaccination Site Beginning Tuesday

TACOMA, WA — The Tacoma Dome will become the center of Pierce County's vaccination efforts for the next month and a half, when next week it becomes home to a new mass vaccination site.

The clinic, run by Pierce County’s Department of Emergency Management, will open Tuesday and has a goal of vaccinating 1,170 people each day for a total 34,000 doses. The county says the clinic is set to run from noon to 8 p.m. daily, seven days a week for six weeks, excluding holidays.

For the first three weeks, the clinic will exclusively be offering first-doses of the vaccine to new patients. The next three weeks will then be dedicated to getting those same patients their second dose.

The site plans to offer the Pfizer vaccine — the only vaccine approved for younger patients — so anyone 16 or older will be eligible to receive the vaccine at the Tacoma Dome clinic once it begins. However, parents or guardians must be present with 16 and 17-year-olds.

Local leaders say this mass vaccination site will be a critical step in helping the county improve its vaccination rate to catch up with the rest of the state.

“We want to beat this virus as quickly as possible, and now our residents have a convenient and easy way to get vaccinated,” said County Executive Bruce Dammeier. “I encourage everyone to make an appointment at the Tacoma Dome as soon as possible so they protect themselves, their loved ones and our community."

Dammeier and other leaders say improving the Pierce County's vaccination rate is one of the county's best shots at getting case counts under control again, and getting out of Phase 2 by the time the state performs its next evaluation in May. On Friday, the county was pushed back into Phase 2 for at least three weeks for having too many recent COVID-19 hospitalizations and too-high daily case counts.

Related: Pierce County Rolls Back Into Phase 2: What To Know

While the Department of Emergency Management is hosting the mass vaccination site at the Tacoma dome, the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department will also continue to host their pop-up clinics as they have for months now. Residents can registered for those clinics or to get a slot at the Tacoma Dome clinic by visiting the county's website at FindYourCovidShot.com. Anyone who needs help signing up for a shot can also get assistance over the phone by calling 253-798-8900.

The Tacoma Dome site is not offering walk-in appointments, but a new clinic in Lakewood is, for those who cannot sign up in advance for whatever reason.

To make the clinic as successful as possible, Pierce Transit is also offering free bus rides to residents traveling to or from their vaccine appointments.

“We are grateful that the Tacoma Dome has been called to serve the community in this capacity. We know that every vaccine brings us one step closer to safely welcoming back guests en masse for concerts and events,” said Kim Bedier, the director of Tacoma Venues & Events. “Our crew is experienced in welcoming thousands to the Dome and we are looking forward to providing that efficiency as vaccine capacity ramps up in Pierce County.”

Pierce County Emergency Management has vaccinated more than 50,000 people. In total, 480,850 vaccine doses had been administered to Pierce County residents as of Saturday, including 36,862 doses last week alone.