Sterling Heights officially opened a new drive-thru vaccination facility at the Sears automotive center at Lakeside Mall yesterday. The new center allows for vaccines to be delivered while recipients remain in their car to complete required paperwork as well as wait during the required observation time following their vaccination.

The facility will play a pivotal role in meeting the anticipated demand for an estimated 80,000 residents 16 years and older who will seek vaccination in coming weeks, with a capacity to administer as many as 2,000 doses of the vaccine per week. The new location will be staffed by firefighter and paramedic personnel from the Sterling Heights Fire Department, along with other city administrative personnel.

The city, along with partners from Macomb County, Shelby Township and Silver Pine Family Physicians, opened the site at 14100 Lakeside Circle with a press conference on Wednesday.

“This is an unprecedented public health crisis that demands that the city undertake extraordinary steps to protect our residents,” said Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor when initial plans for the facility were announced. “Providing our residents with a vaccination site has been a priority of the city and I’m incredibly appreciative of the support Sears has provided the city during this crisis.”

The site is one of four new locations opened by the Macomb County Health Department, bringing the total number of county-affiliated vaccination sites to seven. Appointments are required at each location, eligible individuals can use the online scheduler here and residents who need transportation assistance are encouraged to register with the SMART Bus Macomb Vaccine Registration Line.

“It is incredibly important that we remove barriers to vaccination, and opening vaccine sites around the county is one part of that work,” said County Executive Mark A. Hackel. “Our local community partners are playing a significant role in this effort and I want to thank them for their continued support of our health department throughout this process.”