Mass drive-thru vaccine clinic draws crowd in Eastern Panhandle

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Lots of preparation paid off when people began to receive COVID-19 vaccinations Tuesday morning as part of the Eastern Panhandle’s first mega drive-thru clinic.

A Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races parking garage was the site of a collaborative effort between the company, WVU Medicine, the Jefferson County Health Department, the Berkeley-Morgan County Board of Health and the West Virginia Air National Guard.

The launch was a success, primarily because there had been so much troubleshooting beforehand, said organizer Donnie Grubb, Berkeley Medical Center trauma program manager.Approximately 500 patients had been vaccinated with the Pfizer shot in a little more than two hours.

Plans call for administering up to 400 shots per hour and as many as 5,000 people per day as the two-day-a-week clinic ramps up, Grubb said. It will be held each Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., for at least the next four to six weeks in the casino’s west parking garage.

“It has been seamless. We had every position trained, filled and ready to go. There have been no delays in the parking lot, and we actually didn’t even have to park cars because the process went so smoothly,” Grubb said.

“We are successfully running six lanes of traffic to be vaccinated, so that’s saying a lot,” he said. “And God even gave us a sunny day. It was like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders.”

He said people were appreciative and praised the operation, especially since the shots were administered while people remained in their vehicles, which helped those with limited mobility.

Individuals who received the shot were checked to make sure there was no adverse reaction afterward and given a date when the second shot would be given to them, Grubb said.

“Early on I stopped a couple of cars to check and make sure they were satisfied with our operation, and everyone was very complimentary,” he said.

Organizers had less than two weeks to plan and implement the event after being asked to do so by state officials, he said.

Grubb said he and Angie Gray, nursing director for the Berkeley-Morgan County Health Department, researched models that had successfully been used in other places and she was also onsite Tuesday as a co-operations chief.

Scott Saunders, Hollywood Casino vice president and general manager, said it was a “no-brainer” when a location was needed to handle this volume of traffic, especially since the company has provided space for ongoing free COVID-19 testing.

“When they posed the question, we didn’t even have to discuss it — it was a no-brainer to do whatever we could, and we said yes right away. It was 100% the right thing to do,” Saunders said.

“To be fair, many did a greater lift, but it’s nice to do what we can to be part of this. We work with a great group, especially the Jefferson County Health Department folks, who always do such a great job,” he said.

The casino and racetrack were closed for about three months due to the pandemic, and company officials are happy to be open again and putting employees back to work, he said.

“Hopefully this will help the health of the area as well as the economics and schools,” he said.

Employees also helped with other pre-event tasks like putting up signs and traffic cones, while the company also provided a security presence, he said. Meals and beverages were provided to workers at the event.

“We will also provide any power or technology that’s needed from a technology standpoint as well as hooking up the command center, but it’s all easier because the organizers have a great plan,” he said.

All West Virginia residents, those working in West Virginia and patients receiving medical care in West Virginia age 16 and over are eligible to receive the shot.

Pre-registration is suggested to help with managing appointment times and traffic flow. Schedule online at vaccine.wvumedicine.org/east or call the COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at 304-901-7060.

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is at 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town.