Starting Wednesday, KeyBank Center will open its Lexus Club as a COVID-19 vaccination site.
With its downtown location, ample parking and access to public transit, officials believe the site will be ideal. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz also said there will soon be more vaccine available.
"We are expecting that all the providers that are giving vaccinations in Erie County in upcoming weeks -- which includes the County Health Department, the state, pharmacies, doctor’s offices, hospitals -- will receive more than 20,000 total doses this week," Poloncarz said. "It wasn’t that long ago where every dose that was coming into the county was approximately 6,000."
Poloncarz said the vaccine to be used will require two shots. While the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine is becoming more available, the county is initially using it for people who are homebound.
The county Health Department also recommended to Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary School in Williamsville that it switch to remote learning for a 10-day period. The school offers pre-K-8 classes.
Health officials reported 18 COVID-19 cases within three weeks, including seven in the past five days.
"The ECDOH Office of Epidemiology has determined that in-classroom COVID-19 transmission is highly likely to have occurred. Combined with additional people in unrelated quarantines within the building, the overall risk level is raised considerably," they said in a statement.
