Updated Feb. 24, 2021: This story has been updated to reflect change in vaccination clinic operation information. The Portland Expo Center will make space for a vaccination clinic when doses become available.
Metro will make the Portland Expo Center available for a COVID-19 testing site beginning Tuesday, Feb. 23. Oregon Health and Science University will provide services and operate the clinic.
COVID-19 drive-thru, low contact testing will be available Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Patients 2 months and older who are showing symptoms can be tested and no appointments are needed. Additional information related to testing criteria can be found at the OHSU COVID-19 resources page.
A vaccination clinic will be appointment only, operate on Saturday and Sunday, and open when vaccines are available. OHSU staff will be onsite to provide all services from appointments to reception to post-vaccination observation. More information is available from the Connected Care Center at 833-647-8222.
“The Portland Expo Center is proud to continue to provide a space for our healthcare professionals to serve Oregonians in this time of need,” said Matthew Rotchford, Portland Expo Center executive director. “Our agreement with OHSU is through June 2021, with the potential for extension if the community need remains,” he continued.
Metro and the Portland Expo Center are looking forward to when events can safely resume and jobs can return to the visitor venues to welcome small business partners and events. “Saying it’s been a difficult year for the Expo Center and our visitor venues is an understatement. We have lost hundreds of colleagues in layoffs so it’s particularly meaningful to help make reopening a reality. The path to that reopening is through more testing and vaccines accessibility. It means so much to Metro to be a part of that,” said Marissa Madrigal, Metro’s chief operating officer.
Metro’s visitor venues – Oregon Convention Center, Oregon Zoo, Portland Expo Center and Portland’5 Centers for the Arts – build strong connections to the arts, foster empathy and compassion for wildlife, inspire innovation, and drive commerce. These venues are a key factor to helping provide stable support for greater Portland’s essential and critical services.