Regina Sung, Senior Photographer

Yale Health’s newly appointed Interim Director Nanci Fortgang announced in a University-wide email that the Yale COVID-19 vaccine clinic will be moving to 55 Lock St. 

In her email, Fortgang wrote that Jan. 27 would be the last day of appointments at the 310 Winchester Ave. clinic. The clinic has offered scheduled appointments in its new location since Feb. 2.

“We initially opened a mass vaccination clinic at the Lanman Center with a capacity and through-put of 1000 vaccines per day.” Fortgang wrote in an email to the News.  “When the campus reopened in the Fall of 2021, we relocated the vaccine clinic to the Rose Center in order to return the Lanman basketball arena to its intended use.”

According to Fortgang, the Rose Center was a smaller operation and only temporary until they transitioned to 310 Winchester to increase capacity to 500 vaccines per day. At the end of January, their lease at Winchester ended.

At the new location, primary series and updated bivalent boosters will continue to be available to Yale faculty, staff, trainees, students and Yale Health members. Primary series doses will be provided on the 2nd floor in the immunization department, and booster doses will be provided in Conference Room 1A on the 1st floor.  The clinic does not accommodate walk-ins; all appointments must be made online.

Currently, the demand for primary series vaccines is low and the focus is mainly on administering bivalent boosters. However, the clinic still continues to vaccinate pediatric populations and are able to accommodate all requests.

“I think it’s really great to have the COVID-19 vaccine clinic even closer to campus, ” Andrew Tran ’26 told the News. “As I am on Old Campus, when I received my bivalent booster, it ended up being more convenient to go to a local pharmacy, Walgreens, due to proximity.”

Tran said that he is in favor of anything that makes receiving the vaccine more convenient and accessible for everyone.

Besides those with religious exemptions, the University requires all students, faculty, and staff to receive a primary COVID-19 vaccine series and to obtain a booster shot within 14 days of eligibility.  Additionally, students were required to receive the updated bivalent booster by Jan. 31. 

Richard Martinello, medical director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Hospital, told the News the results of the bivalent vaccine in the Yale community.

“Receipt of the updated vaccine has been found to be a moderately effective way to prevent oneself from developing COVID and to be a highly effective intervention to prevent serious complications due to COVID, including hospitalization,” Martinello wrote in an email to the News.

According to Martinello, while the updated bivalent vaccine does not 100 percent prevent one from getting COVID-19, it does decrease the risk of getting COVID-19, and by preventing COVID-19, it can prevent the spread of the virus, helping to keep the community healthier.

He also noted that individuals should consider the use of a mask or respirator at times when they are around others and wish to decrease their risk for COVID-19 or other respiratory tract infections. 

Overall, Fortgang emphasized the importance of the health and well-being of the Yale community. She wrote that Yale Health is closer to campus than the old vaccine clinic location, so they are delighted to finally be back in their facility.

Since January 2021, the vaccine program has provided over 65,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the Yale community.