As COVID-19 vaccines are becoming increasingly more available to the general public, Mountain Productions, a Pennsylvania-based staging company, is anticipating a flood of vaccine availability within the next few weeks and has begun to set up a massive vaccination site in King of Prussia to facilitate Montgomery County’s vaccine distribution. Although the company traditionally uses their equipment to set up large stage productions for music festivals and other events of that nature, Mountain Productions has had to readjust their business strategy in order to remain afloat during the pandemic. Over the past year, they have done this by constructing various testing and vaccination sites across 12 states.
This vaccination site is located just outside the King of Prussia Mall, in the parking lot of the former Babies R Us. The two main structures being built are sized at 30 feet by 140 feet, and are each designed to accommodate a 10-lane carport. They are also in the process of constructing more carports which will provide an additional four lanes to facilitate extra drive-through testing and vaccinations. Additionally, multiple shipping containers have been set up in order to safely store the vaccines. Assuming it receives an adequate number of doses from the state, the pop-up site will be able to administer around 3,000 vaccines a day. The drive-through method will allow for a safer, and more efficient vaccination process.
15 to Know is a locally based COVID-19 testing company who is sponsoring the facility. Although they have not received the official clearances or supplies from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the rapid-testing company is optimistic that soon, the King of Prussia site will be able to open at full capacity for both testing and vaccination needs in the Montgomery County area.
Currently, there are two vaccination sites in Montgomery County: one is located at Montgomery County Community College Blue Bell, and the other is at Norristown Area High School’s gymnasium. Each site can administer around 1,000 vaccines per day. The Pennsylvania State Department has not confirmed that the King of Prussia testing site will be available for drive-through vaccinations, as only community clinics have been given the clearances to administer the vaccine at this time. However, Mountain Productions CEO Ricky Rose remains hopeful that as the federal government allocates more doses, the King of Prussia site will be fully equipped to handle the flux of vaccines.
While both 15 to Know and Mountain Productions have taken the preliminary steps to secure a safe and efficient vaccination site for Montgomery County residents, both companies are aware that right now, it is still a waiting game. With so much uncertainty regarding dosage availability from state to state, there is no guarantee that their site will be utilized for vaccinations. Until their site is approved, it will be continued to be used as a testing site, but the expectation is that soon, they will be able to dually administer tests and vaccinations once large-scale vaccination clinics are permitted to operate in the Montgomery County area.
Sources: The Philadelphia Inquirer, FOX 29 Philadelphia.
Grace Nealy 
Jason Karch 
Josh Steen