UPMC opens Pittsburgh Mills covid vaccine clinic to walk-ins

Berke Thompson of Marshall received his first dose of a covid-19 vaccine Wednesday at Pittsburgh Mills mall, where UPMC accepted walk-ins after originally requiring people to set up appointments to get shots during the two-day clinic.

Not that Thompson, 16, saw the Pfizer vaccine go into his arm.

“I can’t look when they do it or else they hurt more,” Thompson said.

Thompson and his mother came to the drive-thru clinic after learning walk-ins were being accepted. The clinic began only a few days after Pennsylvania opened vaccine eligibility to all adults. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved for people ages 16 and 17.

“We’re super excited they opened it to 16 and up,” said Berke’s mother, Marie Thompson, who already had received her first shot.

The clinic is scheduled to be held again from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. An appointment is not necessary but can still be made by calling 833-676-1995 or online at vaccine.upmc.com, said Mark Sevco, president of UPMC Children’s Hospital.

“We want to safely and effectively get these vaccines in arms, and we have vaccine available,” said Diane Hupp, chief nursing officer and vice president of operations and patient care services at UPMC Children’s Hospital.

The clinic originally was slated to offer the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That was changed to Pfizer after federal officials recommended a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of cases of blood clots affecting six women in the days after their vaccinations.

Sevco said UPMC did not want to cancel the event, its first mass drive-up clinic and the first time vaccines have been given without appointments. It had enough Pfizer vaccine, with more coming, to proceed.

Although UPMC notified those with appointments of the change, Sevco said about 25% of those who made appointments were not showing, leading to the decision to open it up.

UPMC spokeswoman Andrea Kunicky said all the vaccine prepared for use Wednesday would be used that day.

“We are keeping the gates open until we use all drawn up vaccine,” she said.

Hupp said UPMC had about 8,000 doses available. As of 8 p.m., UPMC said it had administered nearly 3,700 shots.

The entire vaccination process takes 20 to 25 minutes, with most of that time, 15 minutes, spent in observation after shots are given.

Sevco stressed there have been no issues with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

“They’re incredibly safe,” he said. “We encourage people to protect themselves and their families by getting vaccinated.”

The clinic will be held at the mall again in three weeks to give second doses.

Gregory Smith, 43, came to the mall from his Squirrel Hill home to get vaccinated. He had an appointment.

“It’s good that we’re able to get it, that’s for sure,” he said. “I hope it works. I hope everyone does it.”

Smith said he didn’t reconsider getting a shot after hearing use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was being paused. He said he preferred getting the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, even if they are less convenient in requiring a second dose.

“I know it’s more effective, too,” he said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was about 66% effective in clinical trials at preventing covid illness. The Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective, while Moderna’s is about 94%.

Kimi Bryson, 26, and her boyfriend John Henry Reilly, 29, came from Squirrel Hill. They had appointments.

“I feel good. I was kind of emotional,” Bryson said as they sat in their car for observation after getting shots. “I’m grateful for all the people working here.”

About 300 people staffed the clinic Wednesday, stretching across the entire back side of the mall.

Reilly said a few of his family members got sick with covid earlier this year, some nearly needing to be hospitalized, but they recovered. While grateful, he said he was a bit disappointed about not getting the single-dose vaccine.

“If the fallback is a better vaccine, that’s not a problem,” he said.

Bryson said she felt good about getting a two-dose vaccine.

“I don’t want to get the vaccine and not have it work as well,” she said.