The Cabarrus Health Alliance hit capacity for the first day of the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center. CHA staffers are shown working at the clinic.
Forty minutes after opening the Cabarrus COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at the Cabarrus Arena & Event Center on Wednesday, the Cabarrus Health Alliance hit capacity.
The county entered the next phase of administering COVID-19 vaccines Jan. 6. Those in Group 1 of Phase 1b, people 75 years and older no matter their living or health condition, were able to receive the first round of vaccines at the arena.
The clinic opened at 10 a.m., but at 10:40 a.m. CHA posted on social media that the arena parking lot was full and the clinic had hit capacity for the day.
Some people commented underneath CHA's post that they were in line for the vaccine starting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Chief Community Health Officer Marcella Beam said the clinic opened a few minutes before 10 a.m. to start paperwork early. By 11 a.m., the clinic had completed about 115 vaccinations, and at 12:30 p.m., they completed 250.
Some of those waiting in line Wednesday for the drive-thru clinic said they'd been in line since 8:30 a.m. Chief Community Health Officer Marcella Beam said the clinic opened a few minutes early to get patient paperwork going.
The clinic is able to administer between 700 to 800 vaccines in one day, Beam said. The clinic administered its last vaccine around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. The total number of vaccines administered Wednesday was about 1,100.
Beam said the clinic didn't hit capacity due to a lack of the vaccine. She said clinic staffers knew the number of vaccines they could administer in one day and didn't want people waiting in line until 3:30 p.m. only to be turned away.
She also stressed that while vaccines are available, CHA only has a certain amount of man power available for the clinic. There were 60 to 70 staff members and 10 to 15 volunteers working at the clinic Wednesday.
A sheriff's deputy vehicle was parked at the stopping point in the car line as a marker to drivers.
While the clinic was full for Wednesday, there are other dates planned.
The COVID-19 vaccines are steadily being administered in Cabarrus County to frontline worker…
The clinic at the arena will be open Jan. 10, 12 and 14 starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m. No appointment is necessary. Those able to receive the vaccine in Phase 1a and Group 1 of Phase 1b can view CHA's vaccine distribution information online at www.cabarrushealth.org/611/COVID-19-Vaccine-Clinic-Dates.
