Petco Park opens as COVID-19 vaccine site

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego's first vaccination "super station" -- located at Petco Park -- is off and running.

In collaboration with UCSD Health, the city of San Diego and San Diego county, the Padres and Petco Park are playing host to the city's first COVID-19 vaccination super station, which opened Monday.

The goal, organizers said, is to vaccinate more than 5,000 healthcare workers per day.

The site, located in Petco Park's tailgate parking lot, runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT daily and is currently open to healthcare workers who are eligible to receive the vaccine.

"The vaccination super station increases our ability as a county to administer the vaccine to healthcare workers," Nathan Fletcher, the chair of the county board of supervisors said in a statement. "Opening this supersized vaccination site will be an important milestone in the state of California’s COVID recovery."

In the statement, Fletcher noted that the county could eventually look to replicate the vaccination site at other locations across San Diego. The Padres' model is merely the first, and as distribution grows, other similar distribution sites could arise.

Considering the downtown location of the ballpark and the Padres' standing in the community, Petco Park was a seemingly logical site for the county's first vaccination super station.

"Petco Park is more than a ballpark, and we are honored to help the San Diego community by providing the needed space and operational support to the county for their critical COVID-19 vaccination efforts," said Padres president of business operations Erik Greupner. "Through the work of the County and our partners at UC San Diego Health, the important step of vaccinating San Diegans will help move us forward and save lives."