Expansion at Belle-Clair Fairground mass vaccination site could double site’s capacity
The mass COVID-19 vaccination site in St. Clair County will double its capacity with a new expansion this week, county officials say.
St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said a second vaccination lane at the county’s mass vaccination site at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds in Belleville will be finished and staffed in the coming days. If the county receives enough vaccines, the site could double the number of appointments scheduled each day with the new lane, he said.
“Hopefully if the vaccine begins to roll in we’ll be able to do double what we’re doing now,” he said, noting that 1,600 people were scheduled to be vaccinated at the site Thursday.
The new lane requires 300 ft of tenting to protect staff from the weather. Currently, the site is able to administer doses to up to 2,000 people per day and can accommodate shots for people in up to 18 vehicles at once.
Simmons said the addition is expected to be finished Friday and new staff are being trained to operate the addition, assist nurses, direct traffic control and handle other logistics.
As of Thursday, St. Clair County has fully vaccinated 16,897 people or 6.47% of its full population. On average, 2,315 doses of COVID-19 vaccines are being administered a day in the county, according to IDPH. The county has fully vaccinated the most people in the region.
Operations at the site haven’t been carried out entirely without hiccups, however.
Last week, early arrivals caused traffic jams around the Belle-Clair Fairground, trapping people in their driveways and gridlocking streets south of downtown Belleville.
Since then, the “word has gotten out” that those with appointment should not arrive at at the vaccination site more than 15 minutes early.
Fighting for every dose
For now, the main task at hand is “fighting for every dose” of the Pfizer, Modern and newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine the county can get. Simmons said county leaders and Health Department officials are on the phone daily working to get more doses into the county.
Simmons urged patience from the public but said he is confident that as supply grows, the mass vaccination site will be able to meet the demand of the public.
“We’ve shown that we can handle it,” he said.