By Tyler Greer
UAB News
The University of Alabama at Birmingham announced Friday that it will soon offer three appointment-only COVID-19 vaccination sites in Jefferson County with new locations at Parker High School and the Hoover Met joining the current downtown UAB Hospital-Highlands site as community vaccination locations.
The Highlands drive-through location has been vaccinating UAB patients 75 and older since it launched on Jan. 18 and will also welcome patients from Cooper Green Mercy Health Services. The Hoover Met drive-through location is scheduled to begin vaccinating those 75 and older on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The details on the Parker High School location opening and site logistics will be announced soon.
Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Public Health announced earlier today that starting Feb. 8, the ADPH will extend eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations to include people 65 or older, and additional groups of frontline workers. 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 these groups beginning Feb. 8.
At this time, all UAB and Cooper Green 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 one of the three locations.
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 get you register online.
If vaccine supply on hand allows, UAB estimates it can administer 17,000 vaccinations a week.
“We have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to provide more vaccination opportunities to our patients and the people of Jefferson and surrounding counties, and opening all three of these sites is a tremendous step forward in doing so,” said Sarah Nafziger, M.D., vice president of UAB’s Clinical Support Services. “We could not be more thrilled to have an opportunity to provide these vaccines both for our patients and all residents starting next week.”
“I want to thank UAB and its leadership for moving forward with this vaccination effort. They have been open and willing to work with the city, Birmingham City Schools and other partners to serve our community,” added Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “The next steps in establishing a vaccination site at A.H. Parker High School for the public will be a valuable tool in our joint efforts to defeat this pandemic.”
“We’re happy to partner with UAB to get as many people in the metro area vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Hoover Mayor Frank V. Brocato. “We all know that is the quickest avenue to getting relief from this horrible virus.”
Community volunteers needed
UAB is seeking community volunteers to assist in this effort. Any individuals or church, civic or other groups who want to help fight COVID-19 can sign up for volunteer shifts by visiting https://www.signupgenius.com/go/communityvolunteers.
The Hoover Met site is outdoors and long periods of standing will be required. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old to volunteer.
