Partnership Makes Lake Sammamish Mass Vaccination Site Possible

SAMMAMISH, WA — A collaborate effort between the cities of Sammamish and Issaquah, the Snoqualmie Tribe and Eastside Fire and Rescue has led to the creation of the first community-based vaccination on the Eastside that will initially provide 300 daily doses of the vaccines beginning next month.

It's a reality that local officials had been working toward for several months but that was not possible before Snoqualmie Tribal leaders introduced the idea of a joint partnership. The vaccination site, which will be located at Lake Sammamish State Park, will open on April 12 and will be administered by Eastside Fire and Rescue, officials announced on Tuesday.

The site is designed to accommodate two rows of cars with the potential of administering up to 300 shots per day depending on the vaccine supply.

The Snoqualmie Tribe’s vaccine clinic first opened on the tribal reservation in February but will move to the state park area under the new partnership. As a sovereign nation, the Snoqualmie Tribe is providing the necessary vaccine to make the mass site a reality, officials announced in a news release.

“The Snoqualmie Tribe is exercising sovereignty through our Tribal values by caring for the people and communities living on our ancestral lands 160 years later during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Robert De Los Angeles, Snoqualmie Tribal chairman said in the release.

Vaccines will only be administered by appointment only and participants must meet current eligibility requirements as outlined by the Washington State Department of Health. Issaquah Mayor Mary Lou Pauly said that local officials had been working for the past few months to set up a mass vaccination site to serve Eastside residents. But the site was never set up due to a shortage of the vaccines, which left officials limited options to provide shots to residents before the idea of a partnership with the Snoqualmie Tribe presented itself.

“We want to honor what the Snoqualmie Tribe has brought to our communities, not only in the form of vaccines, but also your culture, your history, your legacy, and your lands,” Sammamish Mayor Karen Moran said in the release. “We are so grateful to the Snoqualmie Tribe for this partnership, it will truly help save lives.”

For more information, including appointments, eligibility, and how to volunteer at the site, visit snoqualmievaccine.snoqualmietribeweb.us.