The city of Baton Rouge will be home to a federal COVID-19 Community Vaccination Center, Gov. John Bel Edwards, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome announced.
The site, which will be located in the Bon Carre rear parking lot of the old Bon Marche Mall at 7359 Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge, will open to the public on April 16, with the capacity to deliver several thousand vaccines a day.
Allocations of vaccine to this site will come directly from the federal government and are in addition to weekly allocations the state of Louisiana receives. All people ages 16 and older are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Louisiana, though 16 and 17 year olds must receive the Pfizer vaccine. To get information about the East Baton Rouge site and to schedule an appointment, click here.
The site will operate Tuesdays through Sundays and, on Mondays, teams from the Louisiana National Guard will conduct mobile vaccination clinics in underserved areas. The site’s drive through hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the site will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sundays it will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“Already in Louisiana, we’ve administered more than 2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, but we have much work ahead of us to ensure that all Louisianans, have the opportunity and ability to access this safe and effective shot that will help us end the pandemic,” Gov. Edwards said. “I appreciate President Biden approving this site for Baton Rouge and for his commitment to increasing the number of doses available in our state.
Louisianans can now access vaccines through hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and community vaccination centers and events. Our work with our federal partners, especially FEMA, has been strong for the entirety of this pandemic and I am confident that this continued work will result in even more Louisianans getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
“FEMA is committed to supporting the state of Louisiana and city of Baton Rouge in the equitable, efficient and timely distribution of vaccines,” said Tony Robinson regional administrator for FEMA Region 6. “Our state and local partners have made an extraordinary effort in the vaccine rollout, this site is another step toward ensuring all individuals who want a COVID-19 vaccine have access to one.”
“Vaccines are moving the state of Louisiana one step closer to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. My administration is committed to working with our state and federal partners to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines within Baton Rouge, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to offer vaccinations to an even larger portion of our community. This mass vaccination site should prove to be a vital asset in our fight against the coronavirus,” said Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome.
“In the nearly thirteen months since we first identified the COVID-19 pandemic in our state, more than 445,000 of our residents have been infected with the virus and more than 10,000 have died. It’s been a long, dark year and yet I am optimistic,” said Dr. Courtney N. Phillips, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health. “More than 1.2 million of our residents already have gone sleeves up for the COVID vaccines, but we know we have a lot more work to do. Our urgent mission to quickly and equitably administer these vaccines will take all of us, and we appreciate the continued support from our federal partners." “The opening of a site this size will be beneficial in maintaining our momentum to expand access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” said GOHSEP Director Jim Waskom. “This partnership with local, state and federal teams means we will have another convenient and accessible location to help our citizens protect themselves and their families through vaccination."
RESOURCES
The City of Baton Rouge has partnered with Uber and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation to help provide transportation for residents seeking COVID-19 vaccinations, including to this new Bon Carre site. For more information on how to access the Uber rides, click here.
For information from the Louisiana Department of Health about how to access the COVID-19 vaccine in Louisiana, visit COVIDVaccine.la.gov.
For assistance from the Louisiana Department of Health with scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine in Louisiana, call the state’s vaccination hotline at 1-855-453-0774.
To schedule an appointment at this federal Community Vaccination Center in Baton Rouge, click here.