GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The West Michigan Vaccine Clinic at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids will set a record Monday by administering 12,000 shots.
The 12-hour clinic is pushing the operation closer to its one-day capacity of 20,000 COVID-19 vaccines. It has not yet reached that limit because supply coming in from the federal government is still limited.
The new mass vaccination site at Ford Field in Detroit can administer as many as 5,000 each day.
A spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Monday’s appointments at DeVos Place seem to account for the largest clinic run in the state so far.
“It’s very gratifying. People are excited to get their vaccine and we’re excited to give it,” Spectrum Health Grand Rapids Chief Operating Officer Brian Brasser told News 8.
On Twitter, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer touted the record as “a major milestone in our fight against COVID-19,” going on to say she was thankful to everyone who helped make it happen.
Appointments were scheduled ahead of time but Brasser said there are measures in place to administer any leftover doses before the clinic ends at 10 p.m.
“We do have some no-shows, but it’s really, really infrequent,” he said. “One of our most important principles is to not waste any doses and we have very tight processes if there are doses that are left over to ensure that they get into the arms of those that need it most.”
Roughly 600 people, half of whom are volunteers, are helping run the clinic.
Currently, everyone 50 and up and those 16 and up who have disabilities or medical conditions, as well as their caregivers, are eligible for the vaccine. Everyone 16 and up will become eligible in Michigan next Monday, April 5.
You can register at the West Michigan Vaccine Clinic online. Vaccinate West Michigan has also listed links to other area providers with which you can register if you want to be vaccinated but have yet to sign up.
