CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State University Wolstein Center COVID-19 mass vaccination site disappeared Friday from the state’s vaccination provider portal because there are currently no places open. According to the Ohio Department of Health, the portal will include Wolstein Center locations if more are available.
It was another hiccup in a rollout of government vaccines that has been criticized as frustrating, time-consuming and difficult, especially for the elderly and people without internet access.
Only a portion of the first days of the appointments at the Wolstein Center were released for online bookings on Thursday, the first day appointments could be made, ODH said in an email Friday.
‘Because there are currently no appointments within the online portal, the venue does not appear. As more appointments are added, they will be re-listed on the (Federal Emergency Management Agency) list, ” an ODH spokesman said.
‘We are currently working closely with our partners at FEMA to strategically release thousands of appointments in the near future. “Once we get direction from FEMA, additional appointments will be released,” an ODH spokesman said.
More than 17,000 Ohio residents registered Thursday, the first day of registration for the massive COVID-19 vaccination site at the Wolstein Center, Gov. Mike DeWine said during a press briefing Thursday.
The vaccination site in Wolstein Center can provide up to 6,000 vaccinations per day, seven days a week, for eight weeks. Vaccinations will begin on Wednesday, March 17th.
Some who are looking for appointments were surprised and frustrated on Friday by their inability to book a vaccination appointment at the massive vaccination center in the city center.
The state has designated its new COVID-19 vaccine website gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov as the place where eligible Ohio residents can register for the shots at the Wolstein Center and other locations. Individuals can also register by phone at 1-833-427-5634.
The state’s new central reporting portal, and mass legislative bodies such as the Wolstein Center, were efforts to streamline the process of finding vaccinations.
Eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday extended to people with 50 and older people with type 2 diabetes and end-stage kidney disease.
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