SEATTLE (AP) – When Seattle’s largest health care system received a mandate from Washington state to create a massive COVID-19 vaccination site, organizers knew that gathering enough volunteers would be almost as crucial as the vaccine in itself.
“We couldn’t do it without volunteers,” said Renee Rassilyer-Bomers, head of quality at Swedish Health Services and head of her vaccination site at the University of Seattle. “The large volume and number of people we wanted to be able to serve and contribute requires … 320 people every day.”
As states increase the distribution of vaccination in the fight against coronavirus, volunteers are needed to do everything from direct transit to visiting people, so that vaccination sites work smoothly. In return for their work, they are often given a shot. Many people who do not yet meet the requirements to get a vaccine, including those who are young and healthy, volunteer in the hopes of getting a dose they may not receive for months. Large vaccination clinics across the country have seen thousands try to capture a limited number of volunteer shifts.
Questions arise at a time when supplies are limited and some Americans have struggled to get vaccinated, even if they are eligible. But medical ethics say volunteers are key to the public health effort and nothing happens that they want protection against the virus.
Ben Dudden, 35, of Roanoke, Virginia, volunteered at a mass vaccination clinic in the nearby city of Salem on a day off from his part-time job at the Roanoke Pinball Museum. His wife, a practicing nurse who administered doses to him, encouraged him to volunteer in case he could get vaccinated.
He spent that January day helping people fill out questionnaires, not knowing if he could get the coveted dose.
“It wasn’t an official thing like, ‘Everyone who needs a vaccine is coming here. I had to ask,'” Dudden said. “At the end of the day, I found out who was in charge of it.
He got what he hoped for and still wants to volunteer again.
“It was a little selfish,‘ I’ll get the vaccine if I do this, ’but for me it wasn’t the only factor,” Dudden said.
At the Seattle Vaccination Clinic, Swedish Health Services considers volunteers to be part of the state’s Phase 1 vaccination group. About 5,000 have been inoculated and about 1,000 have returned to work, Rassilyer-Bomer said.
During their shifts, volunteers receive colorful vests that suit their skill and experience level. Most dress in orange for general tasks, which include cleaning clipboard holders, asking people to fill out forms, taking temperatures, and controlling the recent vaccine to avoid dangerous side effects.
Some may wonder if it’s fair for volunteers to get to the front of the line of work that is often clerical.
Nancy Berlinger, a bioethicist at the Hastings Center, a research institute in Garrison, New York, said the conclusion is that volunteers interact with the public and that there is nothing wrong with wanting protection.
They also go through training and other obligations.
“There would be easier ways to play the system,” Berlinger said. “If that really was your goal, I think it could take more work than some routes I can think of.”
While many volunteer shifts are several hours on weekdays, Berlinger said that doesn’t necessarily mean that only people of a certain class or demographic can sacrifice so much time.
“This could apply to students, it could apply to people who are unemployed, to people who are retired. They could be people who take care of the family,” Berlinger said.
On a cold January night in suburban Phoenix, Lou Ann Lovell, a 67-year-old retiree, received the Pfizer vaccine after volunteering from 10 to 6 p.m. at a state venue at State Farm Stadium, where the Arizona Cardinals play. Her daughter convinced her and other relatives to volunteer.
Lovell pledged before realizing that those 65 and older would be eligible for the vaccine days later. Still, she’s glad she did.
“For the first time, I felt like I was part of something really important and big,” said Lovell, who has since volunteered for the second time and hopes to make it a third. “You’re there and you see all these lighthouses and people are constantly pouring into them.”
The stadium and another statewide Phoenix subway site require a total of 3,900 volunteers a week. HandsOn Greater Phoenix, a non-profit organization that manages online volunteer recruitment, opens 1,400 to 2,000 sites a few times a week and interest has not diminished, said executive director Rhonda Oliver. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people try to sign up every time new places are opened, he said.
Volunteers who have completed the shifts say they should not meet with those who believe they are entitled to a vaccine.
In the Seattle area, three King County hospitals were set on fire last month after revelations that donors, board members and some hospital volunteers used their connections to receive shots. The King County Council passed a measure calling on state lawmakers and Gov. Jay Inslee to make it illegal to grant special access to the vaccine.
Berlinger said there is a clear boundary between a connected official and a volunteer at a shooting clinic that is fired.
“The volunteers we talk to at registration centers are people who are part of the public health effort. They are playing a crucial role, “Berlinger said.” It’s easier to help people who already have privileges. What happens with COVID is that we have to move away from that and say, ‘No, we have to ‘assign the vaccine and vaccination’ ”.
Lovell, Arizona’s voluntary retreat, said critics should target the 20 healthy years she saw trying to get the vaccine the night she was offered.
“If you want to volunteer, volunteer and work,” he said. “If you say ‘I don’t want to do this,’ wait until your number appears.”
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Tang reported from Phoenix.