COVID Vaccines to open up to everyone ages 16+ on March 29

Soon the age restriction for COVID-19 vaccines will be a distant memory except for the very young. Is Ohio ready for the surge? Gov. DeWine thinks so.

DeWine recently announced measures to meet the surge of opening up the vaccine to more groups. More pharmacies around the state have begun offering the vaccine, notably Meijer, Walgreens and Kroger to name a few and 18 regional mass vaccination sites are also standing up.

See graphic below for where the sites will be located.

A dedicated scheduling site is online where citizens can schedule their vaccines at https://gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov/. The site screens each individual and offers sites near them in which to obtain the vaccine.

Ohio's far Northeast mass vaccination site at CSU's Wolstein Center in Cleveland opened this week and will remain open approximately 8 weeks. FEMA Region 5, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and Cleveland State University have partnered to operate the clinic which will ultimately bring vaccine doses to close to 210,000 people in Ohio. The site will incrementally increase the number of vaccines administered from 1,500 a day this week to about 6,000 doses per day or more in coming weeks.

Several pop-up mass vaccination sites are also open throughout the state. More long term sites will be open in the coming weeks. The complete list of sites and their current status can be found here.

According to the state, the Wolstein Center location was selected to be the first long term site to be opened by FEMA and state officials based on its proximity to a large number of high-risk citizens and medically underserved populations. More than 300 local community groups are partnering with the state to help schedule appointments for those who face vaccination barriers for the site. Translators will be on-site to assist those who speak other languages, and free transportation is available for those who need help getting to and from the clinic.

Vaccination will open up to those with cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, obesity and to Ohioans 40 and older on March 19.

Beginning on March 29, eligibility will expand to all Ohioans ages 16 and older. The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved by the FDA for vaccinating those ages 16 and 17, but citizens 18 and older may receive the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The FDA has not approved the vaccination of children ages 15 or younger.