Video production: Carson Young
The University of Alabama at Birmingham and UAB Medicine opened their appointment-only COVID-19 vaccination site today at the Hoover Met. The site will vaccinate UAB patients and all people age 75 and older who live anywhere in Jefferson County. The new Hoover site joins the current downtown UAB Hospital-Highlands location and the soon-to-open Parker High School location as community vaccination sites. UAB is also vaccinating health care workers, EMS and first responders at an additional UAB Hospital site, following state health guidelines for vaccination.
Photography: Lexi CoonThe drive-through site at the Hoover Met had 815 appointments scheduled for today and will work up to 1,000 vaccinations per day at the site, depending on the vaccine supply on hand. The Highlands location has been vaccinating UAB patients 75 and older from Birmingham, Jefferson County and beyond since the state began allowing that group to receive vaccinations Jan. 18. Up to 400 patients per day are vaccinated at Highlands, six days a week. The Parker High School location will supplement the downtown Highlands location, and will also vaccinate up to 400 patients per day.
“We are working as quickly as we can to get these sites set up,” said Sarah Nafziger, M.D., UAB Hospital’s vice president for Clinical Services. “We already had one downtown site at Highlands, and the Hoover Met site enables us to vaccinate a large volume of residents from Birmingham, Hoover, and cities throughout Jefferson County and beyond. The Jefferson County Department of Health, the Jefferson County EMA, and the cities of Hoover and Birmingham have been key partners with us. Together, we are ensuring we can reach the largest number of people from across all of our communities as quickly as we can.”
UAB has provided more than 35,000 first- and second-dose vaccinations to date in downtown Birmingham.
Photography: Lexi CoonAt this time, all UAB and Cooper Green Mercy Health Services patients age 65 and older can request their vaccination appointment online at uabmedicinevaccine.org; invitations will then be sent to patients from Phreesia to confirm appointment locations and times. Non-UAB patients who are eligible for vaccination can visit the Jefferson County Vaccine Call Center online at www.jeffcoema.org and click on the green button to self-register to receive information about obtaining the vaccine. Names and contact information will then be provided by the Jefferson County Vaccine Call Center to UAB, and UAB personnel will make contact and schedule appointments at the most appropriate location. Information regarding registration for individuals in other eligibility groups as designated by ADPH are being finalized with local public health officials. Those details will be shared when completed.
If you are eligible to receive the vaccine but do not have internet access, JCDH recommends you ask a family member, friend or neighbor to help you register online.
Volunteers, temporary workers needed
If you are interested in being hired as a temporary worker for UAB’s COVID vaccine locations on campus, at UAB Highlands, Parker High School or the Hoover Met, fill out an application located on UAB Medicine’s website at https://www.uabmedicine.org/web/careers/-/temporary-positions-available-at-uab-medicine.
If you are interested in volunteering for non-clinical positions for the Hoover Met location, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/communityvolunteers.
Anyone with general questions or concerns (removing shifts from schedule, having issues with sign-up genius, etc.) regarding COVID vaccine volunteer opportunities, please send an email to COVIDVaccinehelpers@uabmc.edu.
Photography: Lexi CoonMore about the UAB sites
The Highlands drive-through location has been vaccinating UAB patients age 75 and older since it launched Jan. 18 and is now welcoming patients from Cooper Green Mercy Health Services. The Hoover Met drive-through location began vaccinating those 75 and older on Tuesday, Feb. 2. UAB continues to finalize logistics for the Parker High School site and is in communication with city officials to jointly plan for the site’s opening. The tentative plan calls for drive-through lanes and a walk-up lane on-site for those who access public transportation or live nearby.
Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Public Health announced Jan. 29 that the ADPH will extend eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations to include people age 65 or older, and additional groups of frontline workers beginning Feb. 8. The Vaccine Allocation Plan is available at www.alabamapublichealth.gov/covid19vaccine/assets/adph-covid19-vaccination-allocation-plan.pdf. UAB’s vaccination sites will expand to include those 65 and older beginning Feb. 8.