Fewer south county residents vaccinated

SPOKANE COUNTY — Fewer residents in southern Spokane County are getting vaccinated against the coronavirus than their neighbors further north.

According to the tentative figures released by Spokane Regional Health District this week, only about a third of Cheney, Medical Lake and Spangle residents older than 16 have started a vaccine regimen.

And fewer than that are seeking vaccinations in Airway Heights, Latah and Fairfield.

At least two of the available coronavirus vaccines require two shots.

The lowest vaccination rates, so far, in southern Spokane County are in Fairfield and Latah.

Data shows 25.90% of Latah and 26.70% of Fairfield residents have received at least one shot.

Latah currently has the second-lowest vaccination rate of communities reported.

The Elk area north of Spokane has the lowest reported rate in the county at 25.0%.

Further south, the Airway Heights vaccination rate is slightly higher at 28.30%, data shows.

Agency figures for Fairchild Air Force Base figures show only 4.50% of airmen getting vaccinated. But officials noted the U.S. Air Force is not required to report its information to a local or state health agency.

The percentage of vaccinated residents climbs slightly from Medical Lake to Spangle to Cheney.

In Medical Lake, 32.80% of residents have received a shot, data shows. In Spangle, the rate is 33.90%

Cheney is only slightly higher at 35.80% despite Eastern Washington University efforts encouraging, but not requiring, students to get vaccinated.

The data doesn’t show any vaccination percentages for Four Lake, Marshall or Waverly.

While about a third or less of south-county residents are getting vaccinated, several county communities are showing much-higher vaccination rates.

According to the data, the South Hill communities of Spokane already exceeded 50% vaccination rates, with the Comstock neighborhood reaching 60.5%, the Southgate neighborhood hitting 51.90% and the Cliff neighborhood logging 50.5%.

The Cliff neighborhood of South Hill encompasses the Deaconess and Sacred Heart medical campuses.

So far, Spokane County’s vaccination percentages are far short of Gov. Jay Inslee’s goal of having 70% of the state’s population fully vaccinated to fully reopen the state.

Roger Harnack can be reached at [email protected].