A former Shopko store location will be used by the Kenosha County Public Health Department to operate their COVID-19 vaccine clinics.
Starting Wednesday, March 10, clinics will move from the Kenosha Job Center to 5300 52nd Street in Kenosha.
Kenosha County Health Officer Dr. Jen Freiheit says with the ability to increase the number of vaccination stations from 11 to 25 inside the former Shopko store, the new facility will be able to increase their ability to vaccinate people from about 1,000 to around 2,700 per day, pending available supply of the vaccine.
“Kenosha County has already been a leader in Wisconsin in delivering the COVID-19 vaccine to residents efficiently and expediently, and this new clinic operation will allow us to take this vital service to the next level,” says Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser. “I look forward to continuing to work with our state and federal partners to bring as many doses as possible into our community and into our residents’ arms as quickly as possible.”
Dr. Freiheit said Kenosha County Public Health will work with all providers to bring the county to its herd immunity goal of 75 percent of residents — 127,500 people — vaccinated against COVID-19. As of Tuesday, March 2, 15.3 percent of the population (26,120 residents) had received at least one of the two vaccine doses and 8.5 percent (14,398 residents) were fully vaccinated.
“The new, larger-scale clinic capacity will be a key to meeting this important benchmark in the coming months,” Freiheit said. “And the size of the facility will allow us to move these many thousands of people through with appropriate social distancing and privacy measures in place.”
Appointments will still be required, and only be available to those who are part of the eligible groups as determined by the State of Wisconsin who live, work or study in Kenosha County.
Links to Kenosha County’s online appointment system as well as those of other local vaccine providers are available on the Kenosha County COVID-19 Response Hub website, or by clicking the flashing red button at the top of the county homepage. For those who do not have internet access, a vaccination call center is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 262-605-6799.
“I encourage those who are 65 or above, in particular, to seek out an appointment and receive
the vaccine, if they haven’t already done so,” Kreuser said. “We would still like to get that
population, most vulnerable to the dangers of COVID-19, vaccinated as soon as possible.”