New vaccination site opens in Regency Mall in Racine

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) – There is a big push in Racine to get more people vaccinated. To make that happen, the county opened a clinic in the Regency Mall -- located at 5538 Durand Ave.

The clinic is inside the former Burlington Coat Factory site inside the mall. Appointments are necessary. Officials say from start to finish, the entire process will take a person about 20 minutes.

“Registration happens over here and we can head down that way,” says George Kowalski, site coordinator as he gave media a tour of the site Tuesday morning.

The site has the capacity to administer 1,000 vaccines per day. This week they will be vaccinating 1,170 people with the Pfizer vaccine.

Another addition is transportation.

“We are offering free bus rides for people who need a ride to get vaccinated,” said Racine Mayor Cory Mason. “You can use that bus ride to access this facility at the mall, our facility down at Festival Hall, or any of the drug stores in town that are providing that service.”

State officials say the opening of this site helps in the effort to get the state to 80% vaccination and reach community immunity.

The first vaccine was given in December.

“Since then, we have given 2.2 million vaccinations all across our state,” says Karen Timberlake, secretary-designee for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. “One out of every 4 people in the state has received at least their first dose.”

The site is staffed by 36 medical professionals and includes translators, forms in different languages and visual communication tools.

Signage and arrows guide people through the process. EMTs are also on site to help monitor and aid as needed.

“To access this site, you can go to vaccinate.wi.gov or call 1-844-684-1064,” said Mayor Mason.

There is no exact timeline for how long the site will remain open, but the goal is to help reach that heard immunity.

The site’s hours are Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.