Movie Theater Using Space as Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution Site - Variety

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A small film chain with venues in North Carolina and South Carolina has been vacant for several months after theater operator Dale Coleman made the difficult decision to keep it closed due to a lack of new films.

However, since March, this is the hall of one location-the hall of Pointe 14 in Wilmington, North Carolina, for the first time. People will not come to watch "The Croods: A New Age", and certainly will not appear on "Wonder Woman 1984". Instead, nearby residents will go to the local theater to buy the COVID-19 vaccine.

The local New Hanover Regional Medical Center has opened a shop in the theater to vaccinate people who are eligible for appointments. Currently, in North Carolina, only front-line health care workers, long-term care workers and residents, and adults 65 years of age and older can register for the vaccine. Carolyn Fisher, marketing director of the New Hanover Regional Medical Center, said that the facility has been using the clinic space and the area within the hospital, but the cinema allows them to accommodate more people in a shorter period of time.

Fisher said: "This has transformed us from managing hundreds of vaccines per day to about 1,300 vaccines per day."

On Wednesday, the first day the vaccination site was opened, hospital staff and volunteers gave 600 doses of injections, which were not used until 4 pm On Thursday, another 1,500 citizens were injected. Due to the large area, the wasteland officials in North Carolina plan to manage only 30,000 people in the Pointe 14 theater. The county is administering Pfizer vaccine, which requires two injections 21 days apart.

Coleman, vice president of Stone Theatres, said: "This is a perfect situation."

. "We have ample parking spaces and a spacious lobby."

The Pointe 14 Theatre will be open from Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm. Local residents have made appointments through the hospital's online registration system. Once in the theater, they check in at the box office, from ticket sales to distribution of medical forms.

Inside, there are 12 stations in the entire hall. After being vaccinated, people enter the auditorium to wait and make sure they have no adverse reactions. The team at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center brought special equipment, including medical refrigerators with temperature trackers, golf carts (which can help patients get from the parking lot to the box office), tables, chairs, laptops and other necessary supplies.

Coleman called the process of turning the theater into a vaccination site "quite easy to achieve." He and the New Hanover Regional Medical Center first obtained permission from the county and local fire officers. Coleman cross-referenced some insurance requirements and gave the hospital staff in Wilmington to handle everything there.

Now, Coleman is promoting the term, hoping that his other movie exhibitors will follow suit. The Stone Theater has two other locations in North Carolina and South Carolina, so Coleman has contacted officials from the local health department to provide a vaccination venue for his movie theater. He also convened the National Association of Theater Owners, the main lobby of the film screening industry, to encourage movie theater operators across the country to consider hosting vaccines in empty halls.

"This is part of the solution we can add to," Coleman said. "We are very happy and very proud that we can donate to the theater and participate in things that we consider extremely important, not only for our business, but also for the entire community."

The International Theatre Staff Union, a union representing technicians, craftsmen and other workers behind the scenes in entertainment venues, is also promoting 

As a vaccination site. In Los Angeles County, Dodger Stadium recently transformed from a COVID-19 testing center to a vaccine site, and the Los Angeles Forum is also a large-scale vaccine site. Small towns with a population of about 100,000, such as Wilmington, are using nearby independent businesses.

For empty entertainment venues, this is a win-win situation. The faster the mass immunization of the public, the faster the return of movie nights, concerts and live theaters. When Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" debuted on the big screen, Coleman tried to restore his theater in September. But he soon discovered that people were not ready to return to the cinema, and he had lost more money in keeping the venue open than when it was closed.

NATO President John Fitian told reporters: "We commend the public service spirit of the Stone Theater."

. "The sooner the vaccine is widely used, the sooner communities across the country will be able to return to normal life in the cinemas that serve them."

Coleman said his theater chain was responsible for turning off the lights and welcoming locals to buy vaccines. He estimates that in Wilmington alone, monthly utility bills are between $15,000 and $20,000. This does not include loans, rent, or other basic expenses, such as projector maintenance. The chain received PPP funding earlier this year and relies on additional funding provided by Save Our Stages, which is part of the government's COVID-19 relief bill and is designed to support independent entertainment venues.

"This is my top priority every day," Coleman said of the grant application. "We desperately need it."

He plans to continue using the theater as a vaccination venue until it runs out. He didn't want to go to the cinema to see miraculous rewards before the crowd was immunized. But for now, he is happy to give back to the community, which makes his theater a cornerstone of southeastern North Carolina.

"This is one of the most meaningful things our company has done," Coleman said.

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