The Price Chopper at 75th Street and Metcalf Avenue now has a makeshift COVID-19 vaccination clinic in what had been the grocery store’s café.

The café-turned-clinic began administering doses of the Pfizer vaccine Friday and is set to administer 1,200 doses through this week, according to Amanda Applegate, clinical services coordinator for Balls Foods, which owns Price Chopper and Hen House.

The first 96 slots for the new clinic Friday filled up in 15 minutes, Applegate said. Currently, all available time slots at the clinic through Wednesday, March 3 have been booked.

About 500 appointments will become available for Thursday, March 4, and Friday, March 5, but sign-ups will not go live until Monday, March 1, at the earliest.

If you are interested in trying to secure an appointment at the Overland Park Price Chopper or at another Balls Foods pharmacy location, you can check here.

Other Balls Foods locations offering vaccines

Additionally, Applegate said all 13 of Balls Foods Stores’ pharmacy locations in Kansas — including at select Hen House and Price Chopper locations in Johnson County — are set to receive more Moderna vaccines through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program this week.

The exact number of doses the company will receive is not yet known. In a previous shipment, Balls Foods received enough doses to send roughly 100 to each participating pharmacy.

“We find out about 24 hours in advance, so we wait until we are confident the vaccine is going to be here before we post appointments, because we don’t want to post appointments and the vaccine not show up,” she said.

Who is eligible?

Currently, people 65 and older, as well as employees of K-12 Kansas school districts, are eligible to receive vaccines at Balls Foods pharmacies.

Applegate said those who are not currently eligible to be vaccinated should not sign up.

Vaccine allocations through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program are extremely limited. Applegate said Balls Foods has been requesting additional doses — but they aren’t guaranteed.