La Conner Drug vaccine clinic runs with volunteers

Kathy Gowan is not the retiring type, after all.

In a previous life the Rexville area resident was a labor delivery nurse. Now she has come out of retirement to join the corps of health care professionals who regularly administer doses of COVID-19 vaccines at La Conner Drug Store.

“I didn’t want people to get COVID-19,” said Gowan, explaining her decision to renew her nursing license. “It took a while to get everything in order, but it was well worth it.”

Local residents who stream into La Conner Drug Store for vaccinations certainly agree.

Working behind the pharmacy counter, Wenona Knippers, of Oak Harbor, helps situate those lining up at La Conner Drug for their shots. She rarely has time for anything else.

Suffice it to say, the Island Drug/La Conner Drug vaccination program has grown beyond initial expectations.

“We started in January with just our staff,” Island Drug Director of Operations Andy Plumlee told the Weekly News, “and as the program grew, we were able to add some very talented people who have been very gracious with their time.”

Their ranks include active nurses, retired nurses like Gowan, retired family doctors and even an oral surgeon.

La Conner nurse Dorothy Downes, who has previously worked with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), is a key advocate of the program and its vaccinators. She often posts on social media the availability of vaccine doses at La Conner Drug and volunteers there on her days off as a manager at a Seattle hospital.

“The workers there have had to do their own job for months and prep, give and log thousands of vaccines,” Downes said. “They do it as a service to locals.

“The staff there,” she added, “deserves maximum credit for doing their jobs, plus (providing) vaccines in a pleasant, professional manner. At times there are lines up front with people waiting for prescriptions. They’re so diligent under exponential demands. I admire them.”

Lauren Jaye, of La Conner, is another volunteer vaccinator. An obstetrics and gynecologic nurse practitioner, Jaye is among those who regularly gives shots at La Conner Drug.

Ditto Dr. Ron Gutto, a Mount Vernon oral surgeon who previously practiced 14 years in the Chicago area and likewise often fills vaccinator shifts at La Conner Drug.

“He’s very vocal and loves vaccinating,” Downes said of Gutto, who true to form briefly stepped outside his workspace Thursday afternoon to greet those in line and help ease any tension they might have felt about being vaccinated.

Both Downes and Plumlee anticipate La Conner Drug remaining a vaccination site going forward.

“As soon as Pfizer opens to youth there will be another local rush,” Downes predicted, “and they will help La Conner youth accompanied by parents.”

“The reception has been very positive,” Plumlee said of the La Conner vaccinations. “At first we were getting most of the vaccine out at our Oak Harbor location and then customers said they wanted more at our satellite stores – La Conner being one of them.

“We will continue with the vaccinations,” he vowed, “as long it serves the needs of the community.”