Drive-through vaccination site opens

#Middlebury #COVID19 #Coronavirus

Waterbury Health’s three drive-through vaccination bays are set up on the Post University campus on Country Club Road. They are open, by appointment only, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Marjorie Needham photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Waterbury Health, in partnership with Post University, on January 25 opened a drive-through COVID-19 vaccination site on the Post University grounds. On the same day, it also opened a vaccine clinic at the Naugatuck Armory at 543 Rubber Ave. in Naugatuck In an earlier press release, Waterbury Health said the clinic openings coincide with Connecticut’s current phase of vaccinations, which has expanded to include all Connecticut residents who are 75 years and older, as well as residents with at least one high-risk health condition.

It said the public clinics are expected to bolster the ability to quickly get shots into arms of citizens. The Post University site was expected to administer 500 doses per day during its first week and up to 2,000 vaccines a day in the following weeks, based on vaccine availability.

A Waterbury Hospital nurse talks with a COVID-19 vaccine patient inside the vaccination tent at Post University Campus January 25. That’s the day Waterbury HEALTH began operating COVID-19 vaccine clinics at Post University and Naugatuck. (Waterbury HEALTH photo)

The three components of the site, registration, vaccination and observation after vaccination are spaced out on the campus. The address given is 800 Country Club Road (North Gate), but patients need to drive down Umberfield Road (following the arrows) to enter the campus and the drive-through registration area. Once they complete the registration process, they follow an internal road to the drive-through bays in the top photo and receive their vaccination. Then they drive on to the staffed post-vaccination observation area, where patients are monitored to be sure they aren’t having an adverse reaction to the vaccine.

The vaccine will be administered free of charge. Schedule your vaccination in two easy steps:

• Sign up at www.waterburyhospital.org/vaccine.
• Wait for your email notification from the Center for Disease Control’s Vaccine Administration System (VAMS) database. Residents will be notified to make an appointment based upon availability.

At the hospital’s website, residents also can learn more about the vaccine and other frequently asked questions. Residents are strongly encouraged to sign up through the Waterbury HEALTH vaccine site. Those who do not have internet access can call 203-575-5250, Ext. 4, to register for an appointment. Patients must register for the vaccine. Vaccines are by appointment only and based on availability.