NEW ORLEANS — Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is now more convenient than ever.
Some of the mass vax sites in New Orleans are now taking walk-ins.
That is the case at the Morial Convention Center site which was doing brisk business on Wednesday.
Vaccine recipients said not having to make an appointment in advance made it easier for them to get their shot.
“So many people work during the week and this is more convenient because any time you have, you get a break or something, you can come get one,” Joseph Campos said.
“I think this is convenient because you don’t need an appointment,” Debbie Easley said. “I put my name on the list at Urgent Care and they never called me back.”
LCMC Health Assistant Vice President Allison Guste said they have shifted from appointments required to appointments urged for vaccines at the convention center site.
“I will say your experience will be a little faster with an appointment, you’ll be fast-tracked kind of like that Disney World “fast pass” compared to the walk-in experience, but we’ll do our best to get through those walk-ins as quickly as possible,” Guste said.
Finding creative ways to get patients in the door and vaccinated is critical, Guste added.
“Supply is definitely increasing. I think the demand has decreased just slightly. So, watching both of those go hand in hand we do see that we need to re-spark that interest in those needing to get vaccinated.”
Bonnie Wilson admits if not for the new walk-in policy, she probably would not have gotten a vaccine.
“I’ve struggled a couple of times to make an appointment,” Wilson said. “I just like shut my computer and been like I’m not doing this. I just heard I could walk in so I said let me do this before I go to work.”
LCMC has administered more than 25,000 shots at the convention center since this site opened about a month ago.
The site took about 500 walk-ins this past Sunday alone.
“We are going to moving to walk-ins allowed each day that we’re open for first doses,” Guste said. You can always find that first dose schedule available lcmc.org\vaccine.
Just a reminder not all vaccination sites are taking walk-ins, most still require appointments in advance.
