SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- What used to be the site of the old Palomar Hospital in downtown Escondido is now home to north San Diego County’s first-ever COVID-19 drive-thru resource clinic.
Starting Tuesday, Feb. 9, the site on 555 E. Valley Parkway will provide a number of COVID-19 services, including testing for the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccine administration.
City officials say an appointment is needed for all services through the Palomar Health website.
The site will be open Tuesday-Saturday, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said that while there are already some vaccination clinics in the North County, including the super station on the campus of Cal State San Marcos, it’s important to continue looking for opportunities to help with the county’s efforts to get people vaccinated.
“We’ve vaccinated more than 400,000 people in San Diego County; that’s about 12% of the population. We have 3.3 million, we still have a ways to go,” Desmond said.
To make that happen, the county has been working to stay ahead of things by getting the vaccine distribution infrastructure in place while waiting for the supply of vaccines.
Desmond said, “We’ve got the infrastructure in place for the amount of vaccines that we requested. So, if we do get them, we can get them into people’s arms as quickly as possible.”
For information regarding vaccine eligibility and how to schedule an appointment for a vaccination or COVID-19 test, visit https://www.palomarhealth.org/vaccine.