SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Highlands Medical Center will host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic next week as cases rise in Jackson County, and across the nation.

The clinic will administer first doses of the Moderna vaccine in the main lobby from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, August 18.

Those wanting a COVID-19 vaccine must bring a valid photo ID and proof of insurance if you have it. Insurance is not required to receive the shot, which will be free.

Masks are required when entering the hospital and social distancing is encouraged.

“We have an incredibly effective vaccine, developed by the world’s best scientists, and now given to hundreds of millions of people,” said Huntsville Hospital Health System CEO Jeff Samz in a statement last week.

“When you choose not to get vaccinated and contract COVID-19, you may be asking a healthcare worker, who spend the last year and a half dealing with this trauma on a daily basis, to again risk their life to take care of you,” Samz continued. “It’s time for everyone else to get the vaccine and put this behind us.”

Highlands Medical Center joined the Huntsville Hospital Health System earlier this year.

According to data from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), as of Saturday, August 14, Jackson County has recorded 7,643 cases of the novel coronavirus since March 2020 with 2,399 of those being this year. 106 new cases were recorded in the last 7 days.

56 people have died since January 2021 in Jackson County as a result of COVID-19.