Arrowhead Stadium as COVID-19 vaccination site in Kansas City? It could well happen
Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, has shown its versatility as a polling station in November for the 2020 elections.
And if Chiefs president Mark Donovan has his way, the venue could further showcase its flexibility by becoming a COVID-19 vaccination site.
“We stand ready,” Donovan said Tuesday. “We made that very clear to the folks we’ve been in discussions with, and hopefully we can do that sometime soon.”
Donovan said there have been “lots” of talks over the past six weeks with county, city and state officials to develop Arrowhead Stadium into a vaccination site as the rollout to combat the deadly virus across the country continues.
“There are a lot of different pieces to that puzzle,” Donovan said. “We’ve been in discussions with all the pieces and in every discussion we’ve been proactive in saying, ‘We’re here, we’re ready, let’s be prepared to take advantage of it when we can.’”
Pending local availability of the vaccine and approval to go live as an official vaccination site, Donovan cited some additional logistical challenges to consider.
During the November elections, the Chiefs supplied 50 volunteer staff members to supplement the 40 members of the election board on site at Arrowhead Stadium.
Donovan believes that, given the magnitude of the vaccination process, support personnel will likely exceed the number needed in November.
“I imagine with the rollout of vaccines from what I’ve seen, at least, in other markets, it’s going to be much more than that,” Donovan said. “And because of what we’re dealing with vaccines — registering to make sure it’s the right person, do they qualify, all those things — it’s going to take a lot of support on their side.”
In the meantime, Missouri residents can learn more about the vaccination process by clicking here, while Kansas residents can click here.
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 441,000 lives in the U.S. alone, according to the CDC.
