FEMA operated COVID-19 vaccine clinic opens in Greensboro
A FEMA-operated COVID-19 mass vaccination site opens in Greensboro on Wednesday morning. It's one of only 18 in the country.
The federally-supported site at Four Seasons Town Centre is right off Interstate 40 and centrally located near the heart of the state. The site will start operation on Wednesday with intentions to vaccinate as many as 3,000 people a day.
Volunteers conducted a trial run on Tuesday, vaccinating 500 people, the bulk of whom were frontline workers in Guilford County. Bookings are already full for Wednesday through Sunday.
Organizers said the clinic will run for eight weeks, so some people can get their first and second doses at the same spot. In the first three weeks, first doses of Pfizer vaccines will be administered, then those patients can return for their second doses.
The clinic is working to get single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines for the last two weeks of the event.
Director of N.C. Emergency Management Services Mike Sprayberry said the goal of the clinic is to reach as many people as possible.
"We’re focused on equity," Sprayberry said. "That’s the main thing here for us. We really want to make sure that we are making sure that we are serving those populations that are historically underserved."
Mandie Williford from the state Department of Health and Human Services said people will be observed for 15 to 30 minutes after getting the vaccine before they can leave. Second dose appointments will also be scheduled during the first appointment.
The site is run in partnership with FEMA and is federally supported, which means the doses it distributes are in addition to those allocated for the state.
"These folks from the Air Force, the National Guard, the DOD partners are highly, highly motivated," Sprayberry said. "We’re so grateful to have them here. We couldn’t be doing it without them."
Kathy Bocock, a softball coach at Elon University, was one of the first to get the vaccine at the clinic, and said her experience was positive.
"They were very organized and friendly in there," Bocock said. "It was just easy."
The clinic will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Officials plan to release more appointments later this week.
Patients can get their vaccine through a drive-thru or come indoors. To make an appointment for the megasite, check out the Guilford County vaccination center resource page.
