ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic at Rochester Community and Technical College began Friday afternoon. The 2,300 available doses were aimed at priority group 1A3; group workers, dental offices, health workers and educators who have not yet been vaccinated.
Local health leaders say they were able to do the clinic thanks to the increase in doses of COVID-19 this week.
“For the first time since the vaccine was available, we were able to get enough doses for a mass clinic,” said Dan Jensen, head of Olmsted County.
Between Friday and Saturday, approximately 2,300 Olmsted County employees will walk through the RCTC’s Field House doors to be vaccinated. Jensen says his team has the ability to administer about 260 vaccines every hour.
“It’s really an asset, and for RCTC to invite us into this, it’s amazing to us,” Jensen said. “We let the state down a few months ago and went for a walk with us and they said it’s one of the best facilities to do a mass clinic in the state of Minnesota.”
Although KTTC crew could not see it play out in real time, it is clear that Jensen and his team have a science.
“We are able to remove everyone socially. That is an indication to the community,” he said. “It’s the partnerships we have in place, the planning we’ve been doing for a very long time, our experiences with H1N1 on the day, all these experiences come to the fore.”
It is not clear how long the massive vaccination clinic will last. Jensen says vaccination vaccines are a gripping target.
“We do not know how many doses we will have next week, but our goal is to expand systems,” he said. “Now that we can understand that if we have a certain amount of doses, we can go to another mass vaccination clinic.”
However, it is clear how Jensen and his team got to this point.
“We are here, we want to help,” Jensen said. “How can we help? This is the cooperation we have.”
The success is due to Olmsted County and the people in it.
“I can not be proud of the way this community comes together and does things as a community to support the health and well-being of individuals in this community,” Jensen added.
Those who are eligible to be vaccinated at the mass clinic will be contacted.
This clinic is separate from the two semi-permanent clinics run by the state in Duluth and Minneapolis. State health officials say a third site will open in southern Minnesota next week. The location has yet to be determined. Jensen says if the state wants to work with provincial officials, they would be happy to accept it.