Family Health Centers of San Diego hosted free, no appointment necessary vaccines for healthcare workers and anyone 65 or older. It was a one-day event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
The address is 823 Gateway Center Way, San Diego, CA 92102.
The site had 1,000 vaccines to distribute, and organizers said any leftovers will go to their clinics.
"No pain no sweat, not even a pinch. She’s an expert," said one woman, moments after she was vaccinated at the walk-up event Saturday.
FREE, NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY VACCINES HAPPENING IN SAN DIEGO!
— Leah Pezzetti (@leahpezzetti) February 6, 2021
Do you know someone 65+ struggling to get an appointment? Tell them to boogie down to this location! About an hour ago, they told me only 200 of their 1,000 vaccines had been administered. The wait is about 15 min. pic.twitter.com/lYwXunK2p4
Throughout the first half of the day, the wait time was only about 15 minutes.
"Oh we were so excited and happy that we wouldn’t have to stand in line for hours`," said Patti Dame, who said she found out about the event from her daughter.
For anyone who missed the no-appointment day, there will still be opportunities to get vaccinated through Family Health Centers of San Diego.
"This was our big kick-off and starting Monday we’re going to roll out one new large vaccinate site every week," said Anthony White, Director of Community and Government Relations at Family Health Centers of San Diego.
He said future vaccinations will likely require appointments but their main goal is bringing vaccines to communities in San Diego that are being impacted the most.
"One of the things we wanted to do was decrease the barriers to getting in. You keep hearing things, especially in the 65 and older population. Maybe they’re not fluent in how to get online and make an appointment, continue to refresh, all the kinds of tricks maybe younger people know having been online their whole lives," said White.
To begin, they will be offering appointments to about 400 people daily at the 823 Gateway Center Way location, Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting Feb. 9.
White said the following schedule is tentative, but the goal is to add about one site per week, with all of them open Tuesday through Saturday.
He said 500 daily appointments should be available at the Logan Heights Family Health Center starting Feb. 16. Next, there should be 500 daily doses at the El Cajon Family Health Center starting Feb. 23. After that, a City Heights location on March 2, a Chula Vista location on March 9, then possibly two more in North Park and Hillcrest after that.
To make appointments at the above locations, call 619-515-2474. Only healthcare workers and people 65 and older will be able to make appointments for now.
