The state will host a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon this weekend. The three-day event, which is by appointment only, is the first such mass vaccination in the state.
Gov. Chris Sununu said health officials will reach out to individuals who have first-dose appointments scheduled in April, and offer them the chance to move up their appointment to this weekend at the track. The state aims to vaccinate over 10,000 there.
The clinic will be administering the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one shot, the state said.
New Hampshire has received its first allotment of Johnson & Johnson vaccines, over 11,000 doses.
Due to the timing of that new vaccine, approved just this past weekend by federal regulators, “there was not enough lead time to add those doses to the week’s vaccination schedule,” according to state health department spokesman Jake Leon.
The most efficient way for the state to administer those doses, Leon said, is through the mass clinic.
The site will be open 8 a.m to 4 p.m., Saturday through Monday.
The parent company of New Hampshire Motor Speedway has coordinated mass vaccination clinics at other tracks, including in North Carolina and Texas. The Speedway said it has borrowed the playbook from those other tracks, and worked with the state of New Hampshire on how to use the facility.
Additional mass vaccination clinics will be determined based on future allocations of vaccines to New Hampshire, health officials said.
