Mass Coronavirus Vaccination Clinic Opens In Enfield

ENFIELD, CT — A joint venture between the town of Enfield and Johnson Memorial Hospital, a member of Trinity Health of New England, has resulted in the launch of a COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic, allowing the hospital to significantly increase the daily number of doses it can provide.

The new clinic opened Monday in the gymnasium of the former Enrico Fermi High School building at 124 North Maple St. It will have the capacity to vaccinate upwards of 640 people per day, pending vaccine availability. Initially, the new clinic will honor all vaccine appointments scheduled at Johnson Memorial Hospital, as the hospital-based clinic closed last Friday to allow staff to transition to the new site.

The clinic will follow state guidelines for vaccine prioritization and eligibility, and will continue to align with the state’s phased rollout of vaccine distribution in the coming weeks and months. For the safety of patients and staff, appointments are required, as the clinic is not able to take walk-ins. Individuals with appointments are asked to arrive at the clinic alone if possible. For those who require assistance, one companion per patient is permitted.

"We are very pleased to have been able to work with Trinity Health Care in bringing this essential vaccination center to Enfield," Town Manager Chris Bromson said. "I would like to commend the extraordinary efforts made by our Building and Grounds and our public information officer, Deb McCarthy, to work collaboratively with Trinity to prepare and open the clinic in just one week. Having a mega-site in town will allow us to dispense much-awaited vaccine to our residents and our surrounding communities. We thank Gov. Lamont for his instrumental role in bringing this facility to Enfield."

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, who attended the opening, told Patch, "Our nation is in a race between the vaccine and the virus, and we have to win. Fast. Right now our state and our health care professionals are doing a great job of utilizing federal resources to keep us ahead of the curve. In Enfield, they’re taking it to a new and higher level—the new mass vaccination clinic at 124 North Maple St. has the capacity to seriously ramp-up vaccinations in Enfield, and for surrounding towns like Suffield, Ellington, Somers, Tolland and others. Right now they’re vaccinating over 625 people a day, and they’ve got the capacity to do even more. It’s great to see vaccination opportunities getting rolled out to our towns quickly and efficiently, and my office will keep pressing to ensure our towns have the federal resources they need to keep the good work going."

"The opening of the COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic signals another step forward in Johnson Memorial Hospital's commitment to serve as a transforming, healing presence, affording us the opportunity to provide this vital service to even more members of the local community," hospital president Stuart Rosenberg said. "We are grateful to our Johnson colleagues who worked tirelessly to make our hospital-based vaccine clinic so successful, and we are confident that their clinical expertise and caring attitude will benefit vaccine recipients at the new clinic."

Hours of operation are Mondays from 12:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., and Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The site is handicap accessible, and parking is available close to the clinic.

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