Columbia Place Mall to become mass vaccination site, White House says

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A community vaccination center run by FEMA will soon be set up at Columbia Place Mall, the White House announced Monday.

The site will be able to give out about 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines a day, officials said.

It’s expected to open Wednesday, April 14. Teams from the federal government have been sent to help state and local agencies set up the site.

FEMA will provide the vaccines. To make an appointment, click or tap here.

The site will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. There will be walk-in and drive-thru options available, officials said.

“We are committed to the equitable distribution of the vaccine and our top priority is to ensure everyone who wants a vaccine gets one,” said Gracia Szczech, regional administrator for FEMA Region IV. “Opening the community vaccination center at Columbia Place Mall will help make that happen.”

Columbia Place Mall, which is off Two Notch Road at Parklane Road, was selected as the location for the major vaccination site because of its proximity to communities with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection, White House officials said.

They expounded on their decision to set up a site at Columbia Place Mall with the following data.

Ensuring Vaccine Access to Vulnerable Populations in and around Columbia:

Richland County has a population of over 408,000 residents and the vaccination rate currently stands at approximately 30%.
The County has a poverty rate of 16.3% and is majority-minority (57.2%). 13.2% of the County’s population has a disability, and 11.9% of population is over 65 years old. 7% of households in the County do not have a vehicle.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) identified Richland County as having a high vaccine demand.
Site considerations for the Columbia Place Mall location included adequate parking and access to public transportation. The site is accessible by the Columbia/Metropolitan transit—a COMET bus stop is onsite.