" The Moda Center is hosting a free COVID-19 vaccination clinic from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, and everyone who comes in for a vaccine or booster dose will walk away with free tickets to the Portland Trail Blazers' March 23 game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The walk-in clinic is billed as a "pre-spring break" event aimed at getting more people vaccinated ahead of anticipated travel in the coming weeks, according to a press release from Moda Health. Multnomah County and Oregon Health and Science University helped set up the clinic.
The clinic will offer Pfizer vaccine doses for everyone ages 5 and up, and Johnson & Johnson doses for everyone ages 18 and up. The clinic will be held on level P4 in the Rose Room, with free parking available in the Garden Garage.
Everyone who gets a shot will receive a free Blazers ticket, and there will be prize drawings every 30 minutes, according to the press release.
"We're delighted to partner with our colleagues at the Portland Trail Blazers to welcome vaccination teams from OHSU and Multnomah County to the Moda Center," Moda Health president Dr. William Johnson said in a statement. "As we all start looking forward now to Spring Break, it's more important than ever for people to get fully vaccinated."
RELATED: Oregon doctors say COVID is making progress toward endemic state
The clinic comes as Oregon is preparing to end its mask mandates for schools and indoor public spaces later this week, switching to optional masking except in certain sensitive places such as health care settings.
The Rose Quarter, which houses the Moda Center and the Oregon Convention Center, previously announced that it will no longer require indoor masks once the state requirement is lifted, although it has given no indication that its current proof-of-vaccination rules for attendees will change.
Oregon's new COVID case and hospitalization numbers have fallen steadily for the past month as the omicron wave recedes, and have now returned to pre-omicron levels with fewer than 400 hospitalizations statewide and fewer than 1,000 new cases reported on most days.
However, public health officials have stressed that the pandemic isn't over, and widespread vaccination will continue to be essential to keep COVID numbers under control." (
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