BUCKHANNON – A St. Joseph’s Hospital representative on Tuesday said vaccine clinics are slated to take place twice weekly – on Wednesdays and Fridays – in March.

Vice president for marketing, public relations and Foundation for St. Joseph’s Hospital Lisa Wharton told the Rotary Club of Buckhannon-Upshur on Tuesday about the addition of a vaccination clinic day.

“We just got the date set for the rest of March, and we’re going to be doing every Wednesday and Friday for the vaccination clinics because the state is really trying to push out big numbers so we can get through this and get a lot of people vaccinated,” Wharton told the Rotary Club. “We’re going to do 700 new people [Wednesday] and the following week, we’ll be doing 880 new people, so it’s a lot of people.”

The Rotary Club of Buckhannon-Upshur became a sponsor with six other agencies to host community vaccination clinics at the Event Center at Brushy Fork located at 929 Brushy Fork Road in Buckhannon. All vaccines are being given by appointment only.

According to a previous press release, if you have been contacted with an appointment time, please arrive at the center at your scheduled time. To prevent unnecessary wait times and traffic congestion, do not arrive early. Everyone who is scheduled has an assigned vaccine, and all those receiving a vaccine should bring a valid photo ID.

The club has also set up five blood screenings on April 3, April 17, May 1, May 15 and May 22 at St, Joseph’s Hospital. A basic blood profile test costs $35 and optional tests include thyroid for $5, colon cancer screen for $5, hemoglobin A1C for $15, prostate cancer for $20 and Hepatitis C antibody for $20. No walk-in appointments will be available, but people may make a reservation at https://rotarybloodscreening.as.me/.

“On March 30 we’ve got the blood drive donation, and this is the one with ‘Save Lives, Feed Families,’ so for every blood donor, they’re going to make a donation to the Parish House, which is very nice and we also thought we would make that a food donation drive, where people could come by whether they’re donating blood or not and drop food off,” Wharton said.

The blood drive will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Event Center at Brushy Fork.