Eligible for a vaccine in Seattle but unable to get one? It might be your ZIP code

As Covid-19 vaccines rolled out nationally and locally, reports emerged of wealthy white people traveling to working class neighborhoods and communities of color to get vaccinated, filling appointments intended for groups considered most vulnerable to severe Covid-19 outcomes.

In Seattle, city officials have tried to level the playing field by quietly enacting their own vaccine priority standards, within Washington state’s eligibility framework.

Instead of taking a first-come, first-served approach, the city says it is prioritizing Black, Indigenous, and people of color, older adults who haven’t been vaccinated yet, as well as people living within ZIP codes hardest hit by Covid, as identified by the University of Washington’s Social Vulnerability Index map.

But the city’s attempt to make vaccine access more equitable has caused some confusion for thousands of residents signed up on Seattle’s vaccine waitlist.