How your employees could get their COVID-19 vaccines at workplace

Workplaces can now serve as COVID-19 vaccination sites but they must first register with the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and give CHCC at least a week to prepare for the outreach.

CHCC administrator Heather S. Pangelinan, who walked Saipan Tribune through the logistics, said the process from registration with CHCC to administering a vaccine shot at a new outreach site takes around a week. Pangelinan advised that businesses interested in using their workplaces as vaccination sites call 682-SHOT (7468) and register with CHCC at least four business days before the intended vaccination date to allow CHCC staff ample time to assess the proposed site. The assessment will determine if the workplace has enough space for a check-in area, a vaccine administration area, and a post-vaccination observation area.

Pangelinan said “a couple of businesses” are currently in the process of registering their workplaces to be vaccination sites in July.

Separately, it was learned from CHCC spokesperson Guillermo Lifoifoi on Monday that right now registered workplaces serve as vaccination sites for one rotation of first and second doses. If demand for vaccines at a certain outreach site is high, CHCC will schedule additional rotations. Lifoifoi urged the community to keep up to date with outreach schedules on vaccinatecnmi.com, where the schedule is updated weekly.

According to Pangelinan, the number of vaccines that CHCC will deliver to an outreach site is determined during registration, with businesses needing to show that at least 15 individuals have registered to receive vaccines at the proposed outreach site. Depending on demand, on average CHCC provides 10-15 personnel per outreach event. Additionally, personnel from the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Fire & Emergency Medical Services will provide onsite support to assist with vaccination operations.

Delivery of these vaccines to an outreach site is done by the CHCC Immunization program, which will use portable vaccine storage units to provide outreach sites with vaccines at the start of their scheduled vaccination times. Once the vaccines arrive at a site, CHCC will provide refrigeration units equipped with thermometers and other temperature monitoring equipment that will allow the site’s vaccination team to monitor the temperature ranges of the vaccines.

As of press time Monday, CHCC’s next pop-up vaccination site will be at Tanapag Middle School, open from 1pm to 4pm on July 1 and open from 8am to 2pm on July 7 and 8.

The main vaccination hubs on Saipan, CHCC’s Medical Care and Treatment Site, is currently open for second shots only from 8am to 12:30am on Monday to Saturday, and the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center provides both first and second doses from 8am to 6pm on Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm on Saturday.