Salem Health shifts COVID-19 vaccination efforts to primary care clinics and neighborhood-focused mobile clinics

Salem Health shifts COVID-19 vaccination efforts to primary care clinics and neighborhood-focused mobile clinics

(Salem, Ore. – July 9, 2021) – The state’s first mass vaccination clinic prepares to close on Saturday, July 24. Salem Health’s vaccine clinic at the Oregon State Fair & Expo Center opened on Jan. 7 and, at its peak, vaccinated more than 4,400 people per day in April when vaccine demand was at its highest levels. More than 212,000 vaccinations have been given to-date.

As more than 70 percent of Oregonians have now received at least the first dose of the vaccine, demand for mass vaccination sites has decreased. Salem Health’s mass vaccination clinic in Marion County was both the first to open and will be the last to close in the state. The focus now shifts to an on-demand model with multiple sites and flexible scheduling. The vaccine is readily available in each of Salem Health’s primary care and urgent care clinics for walk-in or scheduled appointments.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to care for our community throughout this pandemic and our vaccination program has been some of the most important work of our careers in health care,” said Cheryl Wolfe, president and CEO, Salem Health. “As the COVID-19 vaccine became available in late December, we knew we had to act swiftly to make the life-saving vaccine available to large numbers of people in our community. We have committed ourselves and our resources to be here for Oregon, and are filled with hope as vaccination rates rise. We will continue to make the process easily accessible to reach those who still need to be vaccinated.”

The vaccine clinic at the Oregon State Fair & Expo Center will administer vaccine second doses, both scheduled and walk-ins, through Saturday, July 24. Walk-ins for first doses are also welcome and those who receive a first dose between July 3 and July 24 are given options for their second dose location. The vaccine clinic at the fairgrounds will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., for walk-in first and second doses until July 24.

Salem Health’s Polk County vaccine clinic at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, which administered more than 34,000 vaccinations since opening on Jan. 11, also closed on June 25.

Salem Health Medical Clinics

Vaccinations are available at Salem Health Medical Clinics – at all primary care and urgent care clinic locations in Marion and Polk counties. Walk-ins are welcome and open to the public during clinic hours, up to one hour before closing each day. Appointment scheduling is also available, for ages 12 and over, online at www.salemhealth.org/vaccine.

Mobile Vaccine Team

The Mobile Vaccine Team focuses on equity in vaccinating Oregonians, prioritizing hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations, as well as those for which travel to one of the larger vaccine clinics is a barrier. More than 70 percent of the vaccine given through the mobile clinics has been to the BIPOC community, aiming to close the gap in vaccine equity.

In Marion County, Salem Health will host neighborhood-based mobile clinic events, targeting communities with some of the lowest vaccination rates in the state. The area’s 97301 and 97305 zip codes top the list of the state’s least-vaccinated communities, and are the site of two consecutive weekends of mobile vaccine clinics.

Saturday, July 10 and July 17:

Mega Foods - off Lancaster Dr. NE

3695 Devonshire Ave.

Salem, OR

2 – 6 p.m.

Salem Health is offering a free meal at the site’s food carts for each person vaccinated (first or second dose) on these two dates.

Mobile vaccine clinic sites which are open to the public will be posted on www.salemhealth.org/vaccine. No appointment is needed for the mobile vaccine clinic public sites.

About Salem Health Hospitals and Clinics

Salem Health offers exceptional care to people in and around Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley. It comprises hospitals in Salem and Dallas, a medical group of primary and specialty care providers, plus other affiliated services. Visit us at www.salemhealth.org; “Like” us on www.facebook.com/salemhealth; follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @salemhealth; and view us at www.youtube.com/salemhealth.