Hospital systems, Charlotte groups unveil mass COVID vaccination sites at sports venues

Charlotte-area residents may soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at such familiar sites as Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte Motor Speedway and possibly the Spectrum Center, as part of a coordinated mass vaccination push.

Honeywell, Atrium Health, Panthers owner Tepper Sports & Entertainment and the speedway are partnering with the state to set up mass vaccination sites. Initial locations to administer the vaccine will include the Panthers stadium, the NASCAR track in Concord and a not yet announced site in Winston-Salem.

The Charlotte Motor Speedway work is expected to be a three-day event next weekend, Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris told reporters Thursday. And she expects Bank of America Stadium will host a three-day event at the end of January.

The partnership aims to administer 1 million vaccinations by July 4, according to statements released by the Panthers and Atrium Health.

And Charlotte’s other major hospital system, Novant Health, said Thursday it too will open mass COVID-19 vaccination clinics. Novant Health plans to open six statewide sites by April — and that could include a site at the Spectrum Center in uptown Charlotte.

Novant Health is working with the Charlotte Hornets to use the arena for the vaccine distribution process, according to a statement from Novant.

But in order to vaccinate large groups of people, Novant says it will need more vaccines from the state.

Novant Health has requested 95,000 doses a week, according to the hospital system. If the state provides 95,000 doses per week, Novant could administer 1 million doses across the state by the beginning of April, according to a statement released by Novant.

‘A top priority’

No details have been released about when the Atrium clinics will be open, or who will be able to access vaccines. But state leaders have said any vaccines distributed by the state will be provided at no cost to the recipient.

“Getting vaccines in people’s arms as quickly and equitably as possible is a top priority for North Carolina,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement released by the Panthers. “Partnerships with businesses, health providers and government like this can help get it done.”

The Charlotte-area groups said they are collaborating with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to “vaccinate as many frontline workers, members of the general public and of under-served communities as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

In a statement released Thursday morning, the state said it had tapped Atrium Health to handle mass vaccination events in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties. The state is planning a number of large community vaccination events in 21 of North Carolina’s 100 counties.

“These partners were selected because they were able to rapidly increase the number of vaccines they could deliver as part of this effort,” DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement.

N.C. Emergency Management and the National Guard will support the events in some locations, according to the state.

Rising cases and concern

The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases surge in Mecklenburg.

The county’s two-week average for new daily COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday is nearly 150% higher than Mecklenburg’s previous peak in July.

And hospitalizations have quickly climbed in recent weeks, too. The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in Mecklenburg surpassed 500 people on Jan. 3, and has not dipped below 500 since then.

On Tuesday, Mecklenburg Health Director Gibbie Harris issued a non-binding directive, asking county residents to stay home as much as possible and avoid interacting with people outside of their household.

And on Thursday, Cooper said the state would begin offering COVID-19 vaccines to anyone age 65 and older.

Previously, the state was only vaccinating health care workers, long-term care facility staff and residents and anyone age 75 or older. But on Tuesday, federal officials began asking states to vaccinate everyone age 65 and older.

But Novant Health infectious disease expert David Priest told reporters on Tuesday that hospitals don’t have enough vaccines available to vaccinate that many people.

“In general, we support getting everybody the vaccine, but as it stands today, we won’t have enough to accommodate that extra group of people,” he said.