The Pittsburgh Steelers and Giant Eagle are joining forces to establish a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Heinz Field.
Set to begin on Tuesday, March 2, the initiative will run the length of the week, with plans to have additional vaccination days throughout the month.
“The Steelers have had a long relationship, a long partnership, with Giant Eagle going back decades now,” Team President Art Rooney II told Steelers.com, “and so when Giant Eagle Pharmacy wanted to set up a vaccination site at Heinz Field we thought it was a great idea. A great opportunity to really help them serve the community, and so we’re excited it’s going to happen.”
Giant Eagle pharmacists will be administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Heinz Field. With the vaccine requiring two separate doses of the shot spaces 21 day apart, recipients will be scheduled for a follow-up appointment.
“They need a large venue,” Rooney said. “They’re going to try to vaccinate thousands of people over the course of a week, and so they need a large venue to accomplish that. Obviously, ample parking is available (around Heinz Field) at this time of the year, so it really is a perfect fit for Heinz Field and Giant Eagle at this point.”
Vaccinations at Heinz Field will be by appointment only and administered in the PNC Champions Club. To check eligibility and make an appointment, those interested can do both at GiantEagle.com.
“We’re going through unusual times, to say the least,” Rooney said, “and so being able to help with probably the most important thing we’re doing right now in this community, which is trying to get everybody vaccinated, trying to get everybody that kind of protection, I really can’t think of anything more important that we could be doing right now than to partner with Giant Eagle to do this.”
According to Rooney, Heinz Field will be utilized as long as Giant Eagle’s vaccine supplies last.
“It all depends on the supply to Giant Eagle. I think it’s going to go on for weeks,” Rooney said. “That’s what they have in mind here, but all we’ve been told so far is next week Heinz Field will be scheduled for the whole week and then we expect there will be additional weeks, but we don’t have those specifics yet.”
After a 2020 season largely without fans, the Steelers and Giant Eagle are doing their part to help ensure Heinz Field is packed in the fall of 2021.