COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Ready to Open at Devonshire Mall

A massive COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Windsor, Ont.’s Devonshire Mall is ready to go.

Windsor Regional Hospital will be closing the Windsor Hall Vaccination Centre on Pitt Street at the end of the day Friday and will be moving it to the former Sears building at the mall Monday morning.

Chief Operating Officer Karen Riddell led a tour of the facility at 3100 Howard Ave. Friday.

The clinic can accommodate up to 4,000 vaccinations per day, but Riddell says there’s room for much more if supply increases.

“We’ve used about three quarters of this location for vaccination and observation,” she says. “We are able to ramp-up and do more vaccinations in this centre with the workflow and the way it’s operationalized.”

Riddell says the clinic at St. Clair College will also be transitioned to the mall on July 22.

“The University of Windsor for example, we’re transitioning Windsor Hall back to them so they can get that ready for their School of Social Work,” says Riddell. “The SportsPlex, we need to get that converted back so they can use it for sports at St. Clair.”

Effort was spent brightening up the former department store to create a positive atmosphere, according to Riddell.

She says the vivid colours are also for logistics.

“They know exactly where they’re going. If they were in the green zone they’re going into the next green zone,” she says. “It’s not all about just being pretty; it’s very practical as well. It’s a big facility, so we want to make sure people can find where they’re going.”

Riddell says all appointments at the downtown Windsor clinic will be honoured at the mall location moving forward.

She says the site was chosen because it’s a transportation hub for Transit Windsor and the service will still be offering free round trips for those with proof of a vaccination appointment.

The clinic is still by appointment only and walk-ins will not be accepted.