Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center will be the site of a Federal Emergency Management Agency mass vaccination clinic with the capacity to administer 6,000 COVID-19 vaccines a day, Gov. Mike DeWine's office announced Friday, March 5.
The mass vaccination clinic begins on Wednesday, March 17, and will operate 12-hours a day, seven days a week for eight weeks, DeWine said.
All Ohioans eligible to receive the vaccine under state health guidelines can use the site, DeWine said. Currently, all Ohioans age 60 and older, those with specific medical conditions and those in certain occupations are eligible. DeWine said there are no immediate plans to expand the current eligibility during the eight weeks of the vaccination clinic but that he is committed to "move as fast as we can" once the majority of those 60 and older are inoculated.
The site will administer the Pfizer vaccine during the first three weeks and guarantee a second dose the during weeks four through six. The brand of vaccine that will be supplied during the final two weeks of the clinic has yet to be determined. There are no plans to extend the mass vaccination site after that time, DeWine said, adding that local hospitals would be able "to surge up" and provide more vaccinations if the supply becomes available.
"Mass vaccination clinics have always been part of our plan, but adequate supply is necessary for larger sites, so it was crucial that we first established local provider sites in all 88 counties to ensure that every citizen in every community has a provider nearby," DeWine said during the announcement at the Wolstein Center.
FEMA chose the downtown Cleveland location based on its proximity to a large number of high-risk residents and a large population of people who are medically underserved.
About 1.1 million people age 60 and older live in Northeast Ohio, and nearly 45% of the 25,000 residents within 1 mile of the site live below the poverty level.
"FEMA and our federal partners are committed to increasing COVID-19 vaccine access in socially vulnerable and underserved communities in Ohio and across the country, with an overall goal of ensuring anyone who wants a vaccine can get one," said Kevin M. Sligh, acting regional administrator, FEMA Region 5, in the announcement.
Vaccinations at the Wolstein Center will be in addition to the state's previously announced weekly allotment of doses. Ohio has more than 1,200 providers administering the vaccine as of early March and has vaccinated more than 1.8 million people, or 15.4% of the state's population.
"This type of large-scale site is essential as more people become eligible for vaccination and as new strains of the virus are discovered in our communities," Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said in a statement. "We ask that you continue to wear a mask, wash your hands, social distance, and stay home if you can. These preventative measures, coupled with the increasing availability of vaccines, will help us slow the spread of COVID-19."
The announcement also stated that Cuyahoga County leaders plan to provide free bus passes and subsidize ride share services for people who call 2-1-1 and request transportation for a vaccination appointment.
Cuyahoga County executive Armond Budish praised the governor and the Biden administration for making sure all communities, even those who face barriers, have equitable access to the vaccine.
"I am thrilled to say that with this new mass vaccination site, the light at the end of the tunnel just got a lot brighter," Budish said.
DeWine also announced 15 long-term, state-run regional mass vaccination clinics. Vaccination clinics will be located in Lima, Maumee, Dayton, Columbus, Akron, Youngstown, Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Marietta, Wilmington and Zanesville. Among the mass clinics are four mobile clinics that will travel in the areas of northwestern and west-central Ohio (Ada), southeastern Ohio (Athens), north-central Ohio (Mansfield) and east-central Ohio (Steubenville). These clinics will be open three or four days a week to administer between 300 and 3,000 vaccines per day, depending on location, starting the last week of March. They will remain open until there is no longer a need, DeWine said.
The Ohio Department of Health, Ohio National Guard and Ohio Emergency Management Agency have been selected to manage the Wolstein Center mass vaccination clinic with support from FEMA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and Cleveland State University.
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