SAN DIEGO (CNS) - UC San Diego Health’s COVID-19 vaccination super station on the UCSD campus opened Monday morning, serving vaccination-eligible UC San Diego Health patients as well as the university's faculty and staff.
The vaccination site will operate inside the UCSD's Recreation, Intramural and Athletic Complex -- RIMAC Arena -- and will be the fifth such super station in the county.
"The opening of a new vaccination site at RIMAC represents another opportunity to partner with the County of San Diego to end the pandemic," said UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla. "UC San Diego Health is a statewide leader in vaccine distribution. Our continuing partnership with the county and the opening of this new superstation are parts of our overall commitment to establish the San Diego region as an exemplar for vaccine distribution."
The RIMAC site on 9730 Hopkins Dr. will be operated by UC San Diego Health, which also collaborates with the county, San Diego Padres and San Diego to run a vaccination superstation adjacent to Petco Park in downtown San Diego.
The Petco site, which opened Jan. 11, operates seven days a week and inoculates roughly 5,000 persons each day. As of Feb. 1, more than 89,500 persons had received their first doses of vaccine at the Petco site.
"Widespread deployment of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is one of our most powerful tools for ending the current pandemic," said UCSD Health CEO Patty Maysent. "Adding a vaccination center on the UC San Diego campus allows us to expand outreach and vaccinate more people more quickly, while working within the current tier structure."
Once fully operational, the RIMAC site is projected to provide up to 5,000 vaccinations daily, operating seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Vaccinations will be administered by invitation only through the MyUCSDChart application and an online appointment scheduling process.
Unlike the drive-thru Petco Park vaccination super station, inoculations will occur inside RIMAC via walk-up.
The county is currently only vaccinating people who live or work in San Diego County and are health care workers and or 65 or older.
Doctors, pharmacies, community clinics and other health care providers are also providing vaccinations to San Diegans in the priority groups.
While vaccines have arrived in the region, supplies remain extremely limited. People are asked to please be patient -- as supply increases, providers will be able to perform more vaccinations.