Hy-Vee gears up for its biggest COVID-19 vaccine clinic yet

This weekend, in downtown Des Moines, Hy-Vee plans to hold its largest community clinic to date for COVID-19 vaccinations. 

Plans call for Hy-Vee and partner 211 Iowa, a phone and online directory for Iowa and Nebraska community services, to host a free coronavirus vaccine clinic in the city for 3,500 area residents on Saturday, April 3, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center. Those eligible for a shot include people ages 65 and older and individuals 64 and younger with an underlying health condition, as per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, Hy-Vee said.

Participating residents will receive the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Hy-Vee said a clinic to administer the second dose will be held on April 24 at the convention center at same time as their first dose appointment.

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee and 211 Iowa also are slated to hold a COVID immunization clinic offering the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Thursday, April 1, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Waterloo Center for the Arts in Waterloo, Iowa, for 1,170 area residents. That vaccination event also will be open to people ages 65 and older and individuals 64 and younger with chronic conditions, and a second-dose clinic will be held at the center on April 22.

Related:Hy-Vee to open in-store nail salons with The W Nail Bar

Those interested in getting a shot at the clinics can contact 211, and a vaccine navigator can assist them with scheduling an appointment, Hy-Vee said.

Hy-Vee has held a series of COVID-19 vaccine clinics since early February, when it was named a national partner in Iowa and South Dakota for the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination, which allocates doses directly to pharmacies.

Hy-Vee has held regular COVID-19 vaccine clinics in tandem with community partners since early February.

The food and drug retailer’s efforts have included clinics with the Polk County Health Department, Drake University and Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa to vaccinate 1,000 county educators, school staff and childcare workers; the Johnson County Health Department in Kansas to immunize about 1,700 residents at 23 senior housing and independent living facilities; educators in the Omaha and Papillion, Neb., metropolitan area to vaccinate approximately 2,000 teachers, school staff and childcare workers; the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., to immunize nearly 2,000 eligible residents of Kansas City’s 18th & Vine District residents; the Jubilee United Methodist Church Freedom Center in Waterloo, Iowa, to vaccinate about 200 eligible residents; and Our Lady of the Americas Catholic Church in Des Moines, Iowa, to immunize about 500 church members. The vaccination events with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum are being held weekly, with the most recent event held March 29 for 650 people.

Related:Hy-Vee set to launch rapid antibody COVID testing

Hy-Vee administered its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 29 to long-term care facility staff and residents at the Lakeview Methodist Health Care Center in Fairmont, Minn. The next day, Hy-Vee provided its first coronavirus vaccinations in its home state to frontline health care personnel at the Hy-Vee Pharmacy in Waukee, Iowa, in partnership with the Dallas County Health Department. The Moderna vaccine, which also requires two doses, was administered at both events.

Overall, Hy-Vee operates more than 275 stores in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The company has about 270 in-store and freestanding pharmacies plus more than 70 in-store retail health clinics.