BREAKING: Wilmington Air Park to be Ohio COVID-19 mass vaccination site

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WILMINGTON – The Wilmington Air Park will host a mass COVID-19 vaccination site, one of 15 in Ohio announced Friday afternoon by Gov. Mike DeWine.

Few details are known at this point, according to ATSG Marketing Manager Kym Parks.

“We’ll know more next week; this is happening fairly quickly for us,” she stated.

Still not known are major details including how to make an appointment or the times and dates, and everything will be dependent on vaccine supply, she said.

Parks said the clinic would be for Clinton County residents as well as any residents outside the county — who meet Ohio’s established guidelines at the time (such as age, occupational and medical requirements).

She added that securing one of the mass vaccination sites was a coordinated effort within the county including the Air Park, Clinton County Port Authority, and Clinton County Commissioners, Health District, and Emergency Management Agency.

The county is partnering with Kroger, which will run the clinic portion of the site and administer the vaccines.

The county and its businesses will also benefit economically by Ohioans coming to Clinton County to be vaccinated.

Statewide

The other state-sponsored mass vaccination clinics will be located in Lima, Maumee, Dayton, Columbus, Akron, Youngstown, Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Marietta, and Zanesville. Four mobile mass vaccination clinics will also make rounds in the areas of northwestern and west-central Ohio (Ada), southeastern Ohio (Athens), north-central Ohio (Mansfield), and east-central Ohio (Steubenville), the state announced in a news release.

“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,” said Gov. DeWine. “Now that we have more than 1,250 local vaccine providers and a significant increase in vaccine supply expected at the end of March, this is the right time to finalize and prepare to launch these large-scale regional clinics.”

The regional mass vaccination clinics, which will begin opening in the coming weeks as supply becomes available, will operate until they are no longer necessary.

The regional mass vaccination sites will be locally operated with support from the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Clinics will be equipped to administer between 300 and 3,000 vaccines a day depending on location, supply, and demand.

Ohio’s established vaccine providers can also expect to see an increase in their vaccine allotment as supply increases, and vaccine doses may also be allotted to new providers.

Any Ohioan who is eligible to receive the vaccine under the Ohio Department of Health’s vaccination plan may be vaccinated at any of Ohio’s mass vaccination clinics. Ohio will also work closely with the clinics to ensure equitable access for high-risk residents and medically underserved communities that could be disproportionately impacted by the virus.

Several appointment-scheduling options will be available, including the use of Ohio’s forthcoming central scheduling system for some sites.

The sites are not yet taking reservations, but specific instructions on how to book an appointment will be announced later this month. Dates of operation and hours will vary, but sites will offer both weekday and weekend appointments.

DeWine also announced that 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine will be dedicated to two pop-up mass vaccination sites in Columbus and Cincinnati. The pop-up clinics will open shortly after the March 17 start date of Cleveland’s mass vaccination site and will offer 12,500 first doses at each location. Those vaccinated during the Columbus and Cincinnati pop-up mass vaccination sites will be guaranteed a second dose. Exact site locations are pending.

A complete list of the selected regional mass vaccination clinic sites and associated local partners can be found at governor.ohio.gov.

For more information on Ohio’s vaccination plan, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov/vaccine.

https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2021/03/web1_vaxx-map-2.jpgState of Ohio

By Tom Barr

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