CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thousands of front-line essential workers will get their COVID-19 vaccination this week at Atrium Health's clinic inside Bank of America Stadium.
Atrium teamed with Honeywell and Tepper Sports and Entertainment to host the three-day clinic at the Carolina Panthers' home stadium. This is the second mass clinic at the stadium, as several major sporting venues across the Charlotte area have hosted clinics.
"You could feel the energy in the building getting so excited," Stephanie Dillard said after getting her shot. "I want to jump up and down, I want to cry, I want to scream it to everybody! It's the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm really excited for everybody."
Atrium said they plan to vaccinate as many as 14,000 people over the course of three days. Click here for information on how to book your appointment.
"By offering people a vaccine, we're offering them hope. It's an opportunity for them to look at the future differently, to plan to get together with their family, to plan to gather with friends and feel safe going out to work to go into the grocery store," Becky Fox with Atrium Health said.
The clinic is open to all eligible people in Groups 1, 2, and 3, and you don't have to be an existing Atrium Health patient to receive your vaccine. Last week, North Carolina moved into Group 3, which includes grocery store workers, first responders, postal workers and almost everyone in the foodservice industry. Group 3 is specifically for people who do their jobs on-site with no option to work remotely from home.
"We work non stop. We had some slowdowns but I feel good because now I've seen if you get the shot and you're exposed to someone, you don't have to quarantine," Brian Mason said.
For people unable to secure an appointment for the clinic have another option this weekend. Atrium will host a weekend vaccination event at Johnson C. Smith University, administering doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. That clinic will be open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. both days.
Have a relative or friend in another state and want to know when they can get vaccinated? Visit NBC News' Plan Your Vaccine site to find out about each state's vaccine rollout plan.