Large Mass Vaccine Site Under Construction In King Of Prussia

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — A large new mass vaccination site is currently under construction at the King of Prussia Mall, with large arches visible in the parking lots.

However, the drive-thru site is not being built by Montgomery County, nor is it one of the Pennsylvania Department of Health's planned sites. It's a private venture, put together by a for-profit healthcare company called 15toKnow, according to those involved in building the site and media reports.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that there is "no guarantee" the site will even receive any allocation from the state once it is completed. Officials did not address the site specifically when pressed for details.

"At this time, the Commonwealth’s limited vaccine allotment does not allow for the execution of large-scale vaccination clinics, although our planning to support those events is ongoing so that we will be ready once the vaccine supply is sufficient to support it," a spokesperson from the Department of Health told Patch.

They added that if county health departments and health systems receive enough doses to create a mass vaccination clinic, "we welcome their efforts."

The state has been reducing the number of vaccine providers statewide in order to concentrate doses in the hands of the "highest performing" sites. County health departments are being prioritized, as well as certain pharmacies. The total number of sites is expected to decrease from 1,700 to around 200 statewide.

Don't miss the latest local news; subscribe to free Patch news alerts.

The King of Prussia site, located near the old Babies R Us, would reportedly be able to handle administration of around 3,000 doses a day.

NBC Philadelphia reports that the drive-thru King of Prussia site will be able to accommodate 10 lanes of car traffic at a time.

The state has said for weeks now that they have a plan with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to build mass vaccine sites statewide as soon as they receive enough doses to do so. But that could still be weeks or months away; timelines are unclear.

To get the King of Prussia site up, 15toKnow is partnering with an entertainment construction company, Mountain Productions, Inc., that usually builds stages for concerts.

"Our team has been working to do our part since the start of the pandemic so we can all get back to what we love the most, live events," the company said in a social media post sharing an update on their work at the site.

15toKnow, which launched as a rapid COVID-19 testing company, has testing locations across Montgomery County.

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccination in Pennsylvania, visit Patch's information hub.