CLEVELAND, Ohio – Up to 210,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed to the public in Cleveland State’s Wolstein Center, with a portion set aside for inferior communities, Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday.
DeWine visited the Urban League of Greater Cleveland Sunday night to give more details on how the mass vaccination center at the Wolstein Center will work.
The registration of vaccines for the week of March 24-30 – the second full week of the clinic – will open on Monday morning, DeWine said.
DeWine provided hard numbers of what kind of vaccines, and how many, will be available at the Wolstein Center. The first three weeks the clinic is open, Pfizer vaccine will be administered. The next three weeks will be the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Up to 126,000 doses can be given.
In the seventh and eighth weeks of the clinic, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine vaccine will be administered, DeWine said. Up to 84,000 of the vaccines will be given.
The 210,000 doses, promised by the Biden government to Ohio, are in addition to the weekly allotment of vaccines distributed to pharmacies, hospitals and health departments in the state.
DeWine said he hopes to increase the clinic’s capacity to the aforementioned 6,000 shots per day by next Monday, March 22nd. DeWine also pointed out that the vaccination is eligible, possibly for those 40 years and older, the coming year days.
While in downtown Urban League of Greater Cleveland offices, DeWine also formally announced community partnerships with organizations, such as the Urban League, that will work to expand access to the vaccine for minority communities in Cleveland.
“Our community partners are a priority,” DeWine said. “It’s a priority to reach underprivileged populations, no matter where they are.”
A large number of places for the first days of the mass vaccination clinic, including a limited Tuesday capacity with a limited capacity of about 1,500 appointments, have been set aside for community partners so they can arrange for vaccines to be given to those who they need the most but struggle to access, DeWine said.
In the coming weeks, community partners will continue to set aside part of the week’s appointments to ‘ensure fair access to the vaccine’, according to a news release sent by the DeWine administration to the press conference.
If all the seats set for the community partners are not filled, the remaining appointments will be available to the general public, DeWine said. They will open 48 hours before each clinic date. The same method will apply to appointments that have been canceled for whatever reason.
Appointments that have been unfilled by community partners, or are open due to cancellations, are also available for registration on Monday. The governor has encouraged anyone who wants a vaccine to check their online registration regularly to see if appointments have been made.
Community partners will work to not only register people for vaccines, but also ensure transportation to the Wolstein Center and inform the public about the effectiveness of the vaccines. For example, Marsha Mockabee, president of Greater Cleveland, said they host 30-second radio commercials on local RadioOne networks that encourage listeners to be vaccinated.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to do that by working together, because it’s a town,” Mockabee said.
Armond Budish, CEO of DeWine and Cuyahoga County, who also attended the press conference, both mention the possibility that mobile vaccination clinics will be deployed across Greater Cleveland, especially in areas where vaccination rates are low. However, details about the mobile units are still taking shape.
Anyone who is eligible and wants to register for a COVID-19 vaccine at the Wolstein Center, or at any local provider, can visit gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov or 1-833-427-5634 or the 211 of the United Way link. hotline.
The city of Cleveland announced Saturday night that those who receive a vaccine at the Wolstein Center can park for free at five parking lots near the arena. All nearby Cleveland state parts are also free for vaccine recipients.
Read more news about Ohio coronavirus:
Cleveland outlines free parking lots, parking restrictions at the Mass Coronavirus Mass Clinic in Wolstein Center
Free parking, Pfizer vaccine: what to expect at the Wolstein Center’s coronavirus mass vaccination site when it opens on Wednesday
Ohio reports 893 new cases of coronavirus: Sunday update