First large-scale COVID-19 vaccination sites open in Alabama

The first large-scale COVID-19 vaccination sites in Alabama opened Monday and Tuesday in Mobile, Auburn and Hoover, a week before more than a million seniors and essential workers in the state became eligible vaccines.

Staff and volunteers from Mobile, Lee County and the Hoover Met will eventually be able to administer more than 1,000 vaccines per day, depending on supply, said Bob Shepard, spokesperson for the University of Alabama to Birmingham. Shepard said he expected more than 800 vaccines to be administered on Tuesday as the Hoover Met Clinic reaches full capacity. Some cities and counties have held one-day immunization clinics, but these are the first efforts to deliver more than a thousand vaccines every day, Monday through Friday.

Vaccines are available by appointment only, and people can sign up through online portals run by the Alabama Department of Public Health, East Alabama Medical Center, and the Alabama Center. ‘Jefferson County Vaccine Calls. The Hoover Vaccination Site is a partnership between UAB and the City of Hoover. Another site will soon open at AH Parker High School in Birmingham.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, a line of cars meandered through lanes marked with traffic cones in Hoover. Patients go through checkpoints to check appointments, then receive the shot and park in a waiting area for 15 minutes for observation.

“We haven’t had any allergic reactions at any of our vaccination clinics,” Shepard said. “Everything was going very well.”

On February 8, people aged 65 and over and many essential workers will become eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. UAB and the City of Birmingham are still working on the details of the vaccination site at AH Parker High School.

State health officials expect demand to exceed supply in the near future, which could make scheduling appointments difficult. Until now, most vaccines have been available in limited quantities at local health departments and hospitals.