Zabor
Due to the high demand of people wanting the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, Schneck Medical Center has moved the location of its drive-thru clinic and expanded the hours and days next week.
Officials with the Seymour hospital will administer the booster from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday and from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Freeman Field Recreational Complex, 2476 N. State Road 11, Seymour.
All three boosters — Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson — will be available. Registration is not required, and people should bring their COVID vaccination card.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some have a preference for the vaccine they originally received, while others prefer to get a different booster. The mix-and-match dosing for booster shots is allowed.
Susan Zabor, vice president of clinical and provider management and chief quality officer for Schneck, said nearly 60 doses of the booster shot were administered during the first drive-thru clinic from 7 to 9 a.m. this past Monday on the third level of the Schneck Professional Building parking garage, and that jumped to 239 from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the line of vehicles stretched from the parking garage to West Tipton Street for a couple of blocks.
“What we got on Monday was what I expected, but then Wednesday, it was just way beyond our expectations the amount of volume that came,” Zabor said. “I don’t know if it was people heard about it more or it was the time of day that was more convenient for people. It’s hard to say why they came, but they came.”
That was an indication that it’s a need and a want for the community to be able to receive the booster vaccination, she said.
“After it was over, we met and debriefed and just said, ‘We can’t do this again. We can’t back traffic up onto a state highway, you can’t have that many cars just idling in the parking garage and you can’t choke up the parking garage (for people) that are trying to get to their doctor on the fourth and fifth floor of the professional building,’” Zabor said. “We were just like, ‘We have to find a new location that’s larger based on the volumes that we saw.’”
Once officials determined the recreational complex on the south side of Seymour would work as a new location, they received approval from the city.
“We brainstormed lots of different places, but we really felt that trying to keep it in Seymour was probably what more people wanted,” Zabor said. “They have opened it up to us so that we can expand the times and the number of clinics that we offer, so very appreciative of the collaboration that the city has shown us with that, for sure.”
After next week’s clinics, Schneck will determine if more are needed.
“We’re going to evaluate after next week to see what the demand was and determine potential future dates. We don’t have anything set in stone yet,” Zabor said.
The weather is starting to get cold, which is going to be an issue for drive-thru events, so Zabor said they might have to look at a different venue.
“People really enjoy the drive-up clinics, though,” she said. “It’s great for the elderly population to not have to have them get out of their car, walk up to a location. They love it. They get to stay in their warm car, and it’s a very, very quick process.”