Mariners Begin Fan Vaccinations At T-Mobile Park

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners on Tuesday joined the Seattle Sounders in offering fans free, no-hassle vaccinations on game days. The Mariners are the first team in Major League Baseball to stand up a ballpark vaccine operation, which will run in partnership with the city of Seattle and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.

Starting with Tuesday night's contest against the Baltimore Orioles, unvaccinated fans 18 and older now have an opportunity to get their COVID-19 immunizations at three locations inside T-Mobile Park:

• Edgar’s Home Run Porch, near the left-field foul pole
• Near section 105
• Rooftop Boardwalk on the View level (300 level)

All three clinics will accept walk-ins from the time the gates open, about two hours before the first pitch. Each dose will be administered either by Seattle Fire Department personnel or Virginia Mason staff and volunteers. The walk-up clinics are open to anyone 18 and older who has yet to receive their first dose.

"Having a presence at our City's sporting events allows us to go where the people are to provide vaccinations," said Harold Scoggins, Seattle Fire Chief. "We want to make access to the vaccine as easy as possible."

Fans will have a choice between the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, or the first dose of Moderna. Second doses can be scheduled at Seattle's city-run sites at the nearby Lumen Field Event Center, Rainier Beach or West Seattle.

Those who can't make it to a game, or would prefer to get vaccinated elsewhere, have a growing list of options around King County, including new walk-in availability at Seattle's city-run vaccination hubs.

State and local health officials are encouraging everyone, especially in younger, less-immunized groups to seek out vaccination in the days and weeks to come, to help tamp down the latest wave in infections and prevent further rollbacks. After the governor paused phase changes Tuesday, the state will assess all 39 counties' progress in two weeks to determine reopening status.

"The two-week pause provides time to see which direction we are heading and whether we are turning the corner on the fourth wave, while we continue to do everything we possibly can to get more people vaccinated — especially younger adults — to decrease future risk," said Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County's health officer. "Our best path out of the painful cycle of COVID-19 resurgence and restrictions — and for a return to normalcy as quickly as possible — is by getting vaccinated as soon as possible."