Facilities Nationwide Converting to COVID-19 Vaccination Sites

Facility managers have been busy preparing their buildings for a new purpose as stadium arenas, amusement parks, airports, hotels, and other businesses across the country are turning their facilities into COVID-19 vaccination sites to help with the vaccine rollout, according to various news outlets.

The need for additional vaccination sites is spurred by the goal of getting more people vaccinated quickly, in an attempt to control the mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as to help get businesses and schools reopened so society can return to a more normal routine, The Washington Post reports. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden stating that all NFL stadiums can be used for vaccination sites. NBA, NHL, and MLB officials are also opening their facilities for vaccination rollout sites, CBS News reports.

Disneyland in Anaheim, California—which has been closed since March 2020—also offered the amusement park for vaccine distribution last month. More than 100,000 vaccinations were administered at the amusement park, according to Business Insider. It is presumed that Disney World in Orlando, Florida—which is currently operating—might be used as a vaccination site as well.

Some airports will be expected to allow public vaccine distribution in their facilities as their parking lots are already being used for rapid coronavirus testing, according to The Baltimore Sun. Steven Pedigo, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who is an expert in urban economic development said that these public-private relationships will be the key to getting the country out of the pandemic and get people vaccinated. “The business sector needs to have a seat at the table to talk about how we respond comprehensively,” he said. “This is what they do—they move people, they have the expertise for it.”

The hotel industry, which has been drastically affected by the pandemic, also has the space to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) proposed last month to turn more than 500,00 hotels into vaccinations sites, according to Orlando Weekly.

Lastly, other businesses like Amazon, Starbucks and tech companies like Google have also offered to turn their facilities and campuses into COVID-19 vaccination sites, Forbes reports.