The Washington City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the police department and the county public health department to serve as a closed Point of Distribution (POD) clinic for dispensing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during their meeting Tuesday.

City Council Member and public health administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski explained that the MOU provides for public health staff to give the vaccine to the police officers at their department during the state’s Phase 1B of vaccinations, which covers other essential frontline workers and people who are 75 years of age or older. Pettit-Majewski says this phase could begin as soon as February, “Because of how the vaccine is in the vials, for the Moderna vaccine there is 10 doses in a vial, sometimes we can get more, so we may coordinate with [the] chief when we are doing logistics for scheduling this clinic where we may bring in other people to come in and be vaccinated at the same time. We may try to get other folks who are in 1B to also come in at the same time.”

Pettit-Majewski added that could include sheriff’s deputies, fire department members, and ambulance quick responders, who are in Phase 1B. Right now the county is in Phase 1A of vaccinations, which includes only long-term care residents and long-term care employees, and health care workers with direct patient contact. Though the MOU provides no funds to the public health department, Pettit-Majewski abstained from the council’s vote.