GRAND FORKS — This is the final week that Grand Forks Public Health will offer COVID-19 vaccinations at the Grand Cities Mall, in the former Christian Bookshelf, between Play It Again Sports and Ace Hardware. The site is located at 1826 S. Washington St.
Clinic hours are from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, March 22 and 24, and from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, March 23 and 25. Walk-ins are welcome.
After this Friday, anyone who wishes to receive the shot should schedule an appointment at the GFPH office in the Grand Forks County Office Building, 151 S. Fourth St., or with their health care provider, such as Altru Health System and Spectra Health, according to Tiffany Boesflug, nurse and health promotion team leader who has been coordinating communications for GFPH during the pandemic.
The Grand Forks Public Health office can be reached at (701) 787-8100.
Vaccinations will also continue to be available at local pharmacies, including Wall’s, Embrace Pharmacy and Thrifty White, and at pop-up vaccination sites and local public health departments, Boesflug said.
ADVERTISEMENT
For information on locations for COVID vaccinations, which are free, go to www.vaccines.gov .
Grand Forks Public Health administered nearly 7,000 COVID-19 vaccinations during the 123 days of operation at the site, which opened Sept. 29, 2021.
The number of people seeking COVID vaccinations at the Grand Cities Mall clinic has dwindled “over the past month or so,” which led to the decision to close the site, Boesflug said. Public health workers provided 248, 300 and 179 vaccinations in the first, second and third weeks of January, respectively, and, since then, the demand has dropped steadily to about 30 to 40 per week in recent weeks.
“We are grateful that we were able to partner with the Grand Cities Mall to provide a more accessible location to serve our community,” said Haley Bruhn, nursing and nutrition manager with Grand Forks Public Health.
The mall site, in conjunction with more than 100 pop-up GFPH clinics hosted over the past year, provided equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, said Bruhn, “and we are particularly proud of this. We had hoped the centralized location of the mall site within the city would make it easy for people to drop by, and we are happy with its success.”
Grand Forks Public Health officials encourage everyone to stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, which are recommended for everyone ages 5 years and older, as well as a booster dose for those 12 and older.
Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and to protect those around you, Boesflug said.
