Alabama’s first large-scale COVID-19 vaccination sites open Monday and Tuesday in Mobile, Auburn and Hoover, a week before more than a million seniors and essential workers in the state are eligible for injections.
Staff and volunteers In Mobile, Lee County and at the Hoover Met, will eventually be able to administer more than 1,000 vaccines per day, depending on the supply, said Bob Shepard, spokesman for the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Shepard said he expected more than 800 vaccines to be administered Tuesday as the Hoover Met clinic reaches its full capacity. Some cities and counties have held full-day vaccination clinics, but these are the first attempts to deliver more than a thousand vaccines every day, Monday through Friday.
Vaccines are available by appointment only, and people can register through online portals operated by the Alabama Department of Public Health, East Alabama Medical Center, and the Jefferson County Vaccine Call Center. The vaccination center in Hoover is a collaboration between UAB and the city of Hoover. Another site will be opening soon at AH Parker High School in Birmingham.
At 11 a.m. Tuesday, a line of cars snaked through the traffic cone-marked lanes in Hoover. Patients pass through checkpoints to verify appointments, then receive the shot and park in a waiting area for observation for 15 minutes.
“We have not had any allergic reactions at any of our vaccination clinics,” said Shepard. “It went very smoothly.”
On Feb. 8, people 65 and older and many essential workers will be 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 it difficult to schedule appointments. So far, most vaccines are available in limited quantities through local health departments and hospitals.