A new “Vaccination Super Station” near Petco Park is aiming to administer COVID-19 vaccines to 5,000 health care workers per day after it opened Monday.
The location was made in partnership between the county, the Padres and UC San Diego Health in an effort to quickly roll out the vaccine and administer as many shots as possible to eligible residents. Those who are considered to be in the Phase 1A-Tier of the state’s vaccine priority list will be able to get their coronavirus shot safely at Tailgate Lot.
COVID-19 Vaccine in SD
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Health professionals from dialysis centers, primary health clinics, dental facilities and more are eligible to receive the vaccine now. UCSD Health employees will be administering the vaccines on site.
"Opening this supersized vaccination site will be an important milestone in the state of California's COVID recovery when it opens on Monday,” San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher said last week. “With UC San Diego Health assisting this new regional partnership, we will get vaccines into the arms of healthcare workers much faster."
Participants told NBC 7 they were relieved to be able to take the vaccine in downtown.
"I work in people's mouths, so I want to make sure that I stay safe so that my patients stay safe," said Pam Sebastian, who works in an orthodontist's office.
This new vaccination site has 42 tents, including four walk-up tents, that will administer the shot to about 2,500 health care workers on its first day. Afterwards, officials hope to increase that daily number to at least 5,000 individuals.
The ultimate goal is vaccinate 500,000 health care workers across the region.
Denise Foster, Chief Nursing Officer for San Diego County, said the site is expecting a shipment of more than 50,000 doses on Monday.
"We are expecting a very large shipment of vaccine today, which should be able to take us through the end of the week and we'll continue to work with the state for shipments to the county to meet the community's needs," she said.
A "large portion" of the doses are the Moderna vaccine, while the rest are the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Health care workers interested in getting the shot at the site must make an appointment online.
Beginning Monday, the Vaccination Super Station will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day for health care workers.
