CHARLOTTE – The public-private partnership comprised of Atrium Health, Honeywell, Tepper Sports & Entertainment and Charlotte Motor Speedway is launching another mass vaccination program over the next three days at Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Football Club. The event brings together each organization's unique strengths in logistics, healthcare and managing large events, in an effort to vaccinate as many community members as quickly as possible.
The mass vaccination event at Bank of America Stadium is projected to administer roughly 19,000 first dose vaccines over the three-day period, serving both drive-through and walk-up traffic, from Friday, Jan. 29 to Sunday, Jan. 31. It's one of the largest vaccination sites in the country and the largest in North Carolina, based on anticipated patient throughput. One of the reasons Bank of America Stadium was selected as a mass vaccination venue is due to its close proximity to the light rail and other public transportation options, which ensures greater access to the vaccine for underserved communities.
"What I am most excited about is that Bank of America Stadium and Charlotte Motor Speedway are such recognized locations that we are drawing thousands of people to be vaccinated from nearly 60 counties throughout North Carolina," said Eugene A. Woods, president and CEO of Atrium Health. "And further, we are working directly with the local faith community to provide direct access to underserved neighborhoods and people of color, who have been hit hardest by this virus. In short, these mass vaccination events are not only saving many lives in the Charlotte area, but also throughout the state."
"Working closely with tremendous support from the State of North Carolina, Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte, the partners are bringing their collective strengths and capabilities to help optimize the vaccination process, eliminate bottlenecks and reduce waiting times," said Darius Adamczyk, chairman and CEO of Honeywell. "Together with our terrific partners Atrium Health, Tepper Sports & Entertainment and Charlotte Motor Speedway, we are establishing a model that will greatly benefit North Carolina and, we hope, will prove useful to many other parts of the country."
"Providing these vaccinations is an essential task for the health of our community and an important step in returning to a sense of normalcy," said Tom Glick, president of Tepper Sports & Entertainment. "We're grateful to be part of this partnership with so many great organizations, and proud to do our part by providing Bank of America Stadium for this mass vaccination event. We've taken the learnings from last week's event at Charlotte Motor Speedway and many of the practices and policies we had in place from the football season to create an efficient and safe experience for those who visit the stadium this weekend. We're going to be able to provide a lot of vaccinations and also hope that our operation can serve as a model that can be replicated for other venues across our region and the country."
Appointments are required to receive a vaccination and vaccinations will not be available without confirmation of a spot, to help manage the supply of the vaccine. Appointment slots are currently full for this event, illustrating the desire of community members to receive the vaccine. After receiving their vaccination, each patient will proceed to a monitoring area where medical staff will closely monitor for any potential reaction. There are no out-of-pocket costs for patients to receive the vaccine. Those receiving their initial vaccine dose this weekend have scheduled to receive their second dose four weeks from the date of their first dose.
Community members who are scheduled for vaccinations are encouraged to arrive no more than 15 minutes ahead of their scheduled appointment time to avoid creating long wait times. Those using the walk-up option for their vaccination should be prepared for longer periods of time on their feet and dealing with current weather conditions. All those with appointments to be vaccinated should make sure to wear clothes that can easily expose their upper arm to receive the vaccination.
Hundreds of Atrium Health teammates – including physicians and Advanced Practice Providers, along with additional non- clinical volunteers from Honeywell, Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte – will spend their personal time this weekend to help vaccinate community members in a collective effort to get the population to a "herd immunity" status.
On Jan. 14, Honeywell, Atrium Health, Tepper Sports & Entertainment and Charlotte Motor Speedway announced a unique public-private initiative with a bold goal of distributing 1 million doses of the vaccine by July 4, 2021. With support from the State of North Carolina and Gov. Roy Cooper, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and local governments, these organizations will work together to administer vaccinations, provide logistics and operations support, and offer venues for an efficient and safe initiative. Between Jan. 22-24, the partners successfully launched the first mass vaccination event with nearly 16,000 people being vaccinated at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
More information about Atrium Health's vaccination plans for the public, including frequently asked questions and detail on how to schedule a vaccination appointing, can be found at AtriumHealth.org/COVID19Vaccine.
