Mega vaccine clinic opening April 13 in Eastern Panhandle

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — A mega drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic will be set up for eligible West Virginia residents at a Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races parking garage, WVU Medicine and local health department officials announced Monday.

The mega drive-thru vaccination clinic will be set up in the west parking garage, which is an unused garage at the casino, according to a WVU Medicine news release.

The clinics will be held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting April 13.

Appointments will be required for the drive-thru.

Officials expect to release information on the registration process for appointments later this week.

The clinic will administer the Pfizer vaccine, the release states.

“We will have 5,000 doses of vaccine per clinic and plan to hold two clinics per week over the next four to six weeks to vaccinate as many community residents as possible,” Samantha Richards, WVU Medicine East vice president patient care services/chief nursing officer, said in the release.

Currently, West Virginia residents 16 and older are eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations, according to the state's Department of Health & Human Resources.

The drive-thru site will replace community vaccine clinics that have been held for several months in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, Berkeley County Health Department Administrator Bill Kearns said in the release.

“Once the state made us aware that we would be receiving 10,000 vaccine doses per week, both local health departments determined that we needed to look at one mega drive thru clinic site that could accommodate 300-400 people per hour,” Kearns said.

Of the sites considered, the casino parking garage was chosen because it offers lots of parking spaces and a covered area so weather won't affect the clinics.

“We want to thank all of our community partners, including Hollywood Casino, for supporting this new approach to community COVID-19 vaccine clinics here in the Eastern Panhandle,” Dr. Terrence Reidy, Jefferson County's health officer, said in the release. “This is a huge endeavor that will ultimately improve access for area residents to the COVID-19 vaccine.”