GRANTS PASS – Health officials in southern Oregon said the team distributed six doses of the coronavirus vaccine to drivers at a “makeshift vaccination clinic” along a road during a snowstorm.
Josephine County Public Health said on Facebook that about 20 employees were arrested on Tuesday on US Highway 199, near Hayes Hill, en route to Grants Pass, after working at a nearby vaccination event.
The vaccines were close to expiring, so authorities decided to offer them to other arrested drivers, officials said.
“The recipients were identified on the Grants Pass, but the snow meant that these doses would not reach them before they expired,” said the health department.
Not wanting to waste doses, the team began to drive from car to car, offering people a chance to get the vaccine, with a county ambulance available for safety, officials said.
All doses were administered, including one to an employee of the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office who arrived too late for the vaccination clinic, but ended up being interrupted with the others, officials said.
Mike Weber, director of public health for Josephine County, said it was one of the “coolest operations in which he participated.”