HERE'S A LOOK INSIDE THE MASS VACCINATION CENTER OPENING AT FENWAY PARK ON MONDAY

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Workers at Fenway Park will be preparing hundreds of shots at a Sam Adams-themed bar on Monday — shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, that is.

A section of the baseball stadium concourse near third base has been converted into a mass vaccination site, and next week it will open for people eligible to receive the shots.

Health care professionals will aim to inoculate 500 people every day next week with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine before ramping up and eventually vaccinating 1,250 people daily. The Fenway site is expected to stay open until April when baseball season gets underway, so people will be able to make appointments for second doses of the shot elsewhere.

The shots will be administered next to a concession stand and a bar, which during baseball season sells hot dogs and slices of pizza. There, health care professionals will sit at about a dozen makeshift vaccination stations, receiving a steady stream of doses from the nurses behind the bar, which normally has Sam Adams beer flowing on tap.

“When people tell their friends and family and post pictures, it gets more people excited about getting vaccinated, whether it is here or elsewhere,” said Rachel Wilson, the chief operating officer of CIC Health, a newly formed Cambridge technology company which is running operations and logistics at Fenway Park, along with several partners.

CIC Health spun out of the Cambridge Innovation Center, an office space operator, seven months ago to address the need for streamlined testing and vaccinations.

Dr. Chris Kaufmann, the site’s vaccine coordinator, said an ultra-cold freezer is on site in a secure location, as well as pharmacy-grade refrigerators where the Pfizer-BioNTech doses thaw overnight.

“Everybody speaks about the difficulties of storing [the vaccine] . . . at the end of the day you just have to sit down and think about [it],” Kaufman said, responding to a question on how to store a vaccine in a ballpark. “Everything is doable.”

Wilson said the team is taking what it learned at the mass vaccine site at Gillette Stadium, which it opened on Jan. 18, and applying it to the setup at Fenway. That includes efforts to control traffic flow to avoid long lines from forming.

“One of the great things about this venue is that we are protected from the elements here on the concourse, but we are also somewhat exposed to outdoor air,” Wilson said during a tour of the site for members of the media on Friday. A heater will be in the vaccination area to help keep people warm as they await their shots, she said.

Wilson said she is hoping the iconic location at Fenway Park, like Gillette Stadium, will make people feel more comfortable about getting the shot.

“There is a certain pride, excitement, and energy that comes with being in this setting,” she said Friday inside the stadium.

According to the state’s map of vaccination sites, two other large-scale sites are in operation, one at Eastfield Mall in Springfield and one at a DoubleTree hotel in Danvers. All locations, which can be viewed at https://www.mass.gov/covid-19-vaccine, require appointments, and scheduling processes vary by location.

Wilson said wheelchairs will be available for those who may need them to navigate the ballpark. The process is estimated to take between 45 minutes and an hour, and bathrooms will be available inside the stadium.

“It is really important that we remain accessible to everybody who needs to come here,” Wilson said.

Parking may be a challenge, however, as people will have to find spots in lots or on the street, and that will not be free. The stadium is near a Green Line stop.

The state is still vaccinating individuals that are part of the Phase 1 timeline, which includes health care workers and first responders, since some have yet to receive their first or second shot.

Starting Monday, those aged 75 and older will become eligible to receive a shot as well, adding another roughly 450,000 people to the list of those eligible.

Wilson said she expects the stadium will remain open during snow, which is expected next week. If the site needs to close due to unsafe weather, she said CIC Health would help people reschedule their appointments, which are made one week at a time. Appointment slots will be based on the supply of the vaccine available.

People with appointments next week will enter the stadium at Gate A on Jersey Street, where they will check in at one of five desks to complete a health screening. They will then join a socially distanced queue indoors, which is meant to prevent lines from forming outside.

After receiving a shot, people will be asked to wait 15 to 30 minutes in an observation area so medical staff can monitor them for any adverse reactions. While waiting, they will be encouraged to make appointments for their second dose, either on their smart phone or on available laptops, but they can also schedule the appointments after they leave.