UPMC is teaming up with the Pittsburgh Penguins to vaccinate more than 1,000 high-risk individuals during a clinic at the PPG Paints Arena on Monday.
The event, which will take place from 8 am to 1 pm, is by appointment only. Vaccines will be offered to those in Phase 1A of the Pennsylvania vaccine distribution strategy who registered to receive a vaccine through the UPMC at Vaccine.UPMC.com.
“We are very excited to be partnering with the Pittsburgh Penguins,” said UPMC Children’s Hospital President Mark Sevco, who is working on a special assignment to implement the UPMC vaccination. “We are grateful to the Penguins for offering their facilities and partnering with the UPMC.”
During the vaccine clinic, people aged 65 and over or those with pre-existing illnesses that place them in Phase 1A will receive their first dose of the Modern vaccine, said Sevco. Before patients leave, they will make an appointment to return for the second dose four weeks later.
All those enrolled in the clinic will receive a call from the UPMC to explain what they can expect, said Sevco.
Patients should arrive 15 minutes early. The volunteers will help direct the parking or landing at the door, said Sevco.
“As soon as they arrive, they will go through a verification process to validate that they are on schedule,” said Sevco. “Next, we will go through an educational process with them, sharing with them the vaccine they will receive and what to expect. So they take the photo and we have to watch them for 15 minutes for security ”.
Sevco said the event will go smoothly and will only be the first of many in collaboration with the Penguins.
“We have a lot of volunteers and a lot of free gifts and special things planned,” he said.
UPMC said it administered 230,815 doses of the covid-19 vaccine on Friday. There are 363,953 people who have added their names to the UPMC online registration list at Vaccine.UPMC.com – and 50,065 of them are scheduled to receive doses of the vaccine.
But that still leaves many people eagerly waiting for their turn, Sevco acknowledged. He asked people who want the vaccine and are eligible for it to register online at Vaccine.UPMC.com or by calling 844-876-2822.
“If you’re on that list, our promise is to call them and schedule them for an event. It is a bit of a wait, but the good news is that if you are registered on our website, we will get in touch with you, ”said Sevco.
After spending the past year working on the front lines of the covid-19 pandemic, Sevco said he is excited to see mass vaccination events escalating.
“The level of enthusiasm of the patients who come to these clinics is very high,” he said. “It is really exciting.”
Julia Felton is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Julia at 724-226-7724, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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