SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- Despite the heavy rain that's expected this weekend, the outdoor vaccination super station at Petco Park is planning to stay open.
"The bottom line is that we're definitely going to be open now, this weekend and through the rain," said Dr. Christopher Longhurst on Friday when he spoke with ABC10 News about how the downtown site will handle the showers.
"The tents have been reinforced. We've got concrete blocks around them and they did fine with the wind earlier this week so we think we're going to be okay," he added and said, "We want all the cars under tents, obviously, so we're not giving vaccines in the rain. We also have to make sure that our computers have trash bags covering them but we've been doing this planning all week and we think we're going to be ready."
UC San Diego is helping operate the county site which sits on a 280,000 square foot lot. On Saturday, 3,500 appointments are set, according to Dr. Longhurst.
The site is currently only accepting drive-up appointments for phase 1A recipients and those 75 and older. There are no walk-ups. "We know that we've had some traffic issues. The City of San Diego [and] the City police have been helping us out quite a bit and we think our flow is getting better. We've actually opened an additional row so hopefully those lines are getting shorter," he added.
With the assistance of Sharp HealthCare, the county opened a second vaccination super station in Chula Vista on Thursday. It's located inside the old Sears department store at the Chula Vista Center mall. The registration area is outside but covered.
A county spokesperson wrote to ABC10 News in part, "No vaccine sites are scheduled to be closed at this time...we are looking to bring in tent type structures to some sites to cover any waiting or registration areas that may be vulnerable."
The county is also asking vaccine recipients to please come well prepared for the wet weather.