UAB To Close 3 Local Vaccine Clinics As Demand Decreases

BIRMINGHAM, AL — In what University of Alabama at Birmingham officials say is a discouraging trend, the decline in demand for the COVID-19 vaccine locally has prompted UAB to close three of its four vaccine clinics in the Birmingham metro.

Volume for first-dose vaccinations has dropped 75 percent in total at all of UAB’s community vaccination locations over the past five weeks.

Dr. Sarah Nafziger, vice president of Clinical Services at UAB Hospital, encourages everyone who has not received the vaccine to get it now.

“Unfortunately, the demand for the vaccine has fallen off faster than we wanted it to, and it’s just not feasible for us to continue to operate these locations at our current scale,” Nafziger said of UAB’s efforts, which the organization has funded at $1.4 million a month. “We will continue to provide vaccines through a variety of outlets, including pop-up sites."

UAB has delivered almost 200,000 vaccinations to Alabamians living in 62 of Alabama's 67 counties, but Nafziger warns that Alabamians still should not let down their guard.

"We have delivered almost 200,000 vaccinations to Alabamians living in 62 of our 67 counties, and it has been an honor and a privilege to be welcomed into these communities so we could serve and try to do our part to end this pandemic," Nafziger said. "That said, this pandemic is not over. And not enough Alabamians have been vaccinated to ensure we can safely return to normal and officially put this pandemic behind us."

The vaccination site at the Hoover Met closed at 5 p.m. Tuesday, so preparations can be made for the upcoming Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament. It will not re-open after the SEC Tournament.

Cathedral of the Cross AOH church in Center Point is currently scheduled to close at 1:30 p.m. Friday, May 28. Parker High School is currently scheduled to close at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, June 18.

UAB Hospital-Highlands will remain open for scheduled and unscheduled first- and second-dose vaccinations for now.

“On behalf of UAB, I want to thank everyone who has visited one of our locations to receive their vaccine. I also want thank the leadership in these communities for stepping up to provide safe, convenient, centralized locations where vaccines can be safely and efficiently administered,” Nafziger said. “Our staff and volunteers who have worked these locations in the cold, in the rain, in the heat and the wind also are to be commended. They have been the heartbeat of this operation since we began in January, and this critical work could not have been accomplished without them."

Nafziger said she hopes people will continue to take advantage of UAB's clinics while they can.

"My hope is that more people will continue to get these vaccines as long as we have these sites open so we can continue moving forward safely," she said. "Shots in arms — that’s still the way out of this COVID-19 pandemic."

Statewide, nearly 3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered, with 1.2 million Alabamians fully vaccinated. In Jefferson County, nearly 38 percent of those eligible have received the vaccine.

Alabama ranks last in the U.S. in vaccination percentage, and has administered just 66 percent of the doses allotted to the state.