MARTINSBURG, W.Va. – An unused parking garage at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races will soon become the site for a mega drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic in our region.
WVU Medicine East and local health department officials announced today that beginning April 13, all area West Virginia residents age 16 and older will be eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the new Eastern Panhandle region drive-thru vaccine clinic.
“We will have 5,000 doses of vaccine per clinic and plan to hold two clinics per week over the next four to six weeks to vaccinate as many community residents as possible,” Samantha Richards, WVU Medicine East vice president patient care services/chief nursing officer, said.
The drive-thru clinic will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 8 am until 8 pm in the west parking garage at Hollywood Casino in Charles Town. Appointments will be required and details on the registration process will be released later this week.
According to Bill Kearns, Berkeley County Health Department administrator, this mega drive-thru clinic will replace the community vaccine clinics that have been held over the past several months in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties.
“Once the state made us aware that we would be receiving 10,000 vaccine doses per week, both local health departments determined that we needed to look at one mega drive thru clinic site that could accommodate 300 – 400 people per hour,” Kearns said.
After considering various locations in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties, it was determined that the casino parking garage would best fit the needs offering plenty of parking spaces and a covered area meaning that weather will not impact the clinics.
“We want to thank all of our community partners, including Hollywood Casino, for supporting this new approach to community COVID-19 vaccine clinics here in the Eastern Panhandle,” Terrence Reidy, M.D., Jefferson County health officer, said. “This is a huge endeavor that will ultimately improve access for area residents to the COVID-19 vaccine.”
WVU Medicine East and health department officials plan to release more details on the logistics of the Eastern Panhandle region drive-thru clinic later in the week. Individuals who received their first vaccine at one of the Berkeley or Jefferson County community clinics and are scheduled for their second vaccine after April 10 will be contacted and rescheduled.
--WVU Medicine--
For more information:
Teresa McCabe, Vice President of Marketing & Development, 304-264-1223,
21 – April
TEM: 4-5-21