DeWine provides details on Wolstein Center clinic

More appointments available for mass vaccination event in Cleveland

Thousands of additional appointments became available March 15 for the mass novel coronavirus vaccination clinic at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center.

The appointments are available for those who currently qualify for the vaccine, which includes those age 50 and older. The dates for the appointments are March 24 to 30. Those with trouble navigating the internet or those without access can book an appointment by calling 833-4275634.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during a March 14 news conference that the clinic at the Wolstein Center located at 2000 Prospect Ave E. will officially open on March 17, following a limited capacity “soft launch” on March 16.

Officials have said the clinic will be capable of offering up to 6,000 doses per day. DeWine said the clinic will incrementally increase the number of vaccines administered before offering the full 6,000 doses, which is expected during the week of March 22. This is similar to what has been done at mass vaccination sites in other states, DeWine said.

“We have found and learned in other states where they have done these sites, that they have done these ramp-ups,” DeWine said. “They’ve not just walked in and said ‘bam, we’re going to do all of that in one day.’ ”

The eight-week clinic at the Wolstein Center will offer first doses of the Pfizer vaccine during the first three weeks. Recipients will be guaranteed their second dose of the vaccine during weeks four through six. The one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be offered during the final two weeks.

It is expected that about 210,000 people will be vaccinated during the eightweek clinic. DeWine said that about 126,000 will received the two-dose Pfizer vaccine and 84,000 will received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“More than 1.3 million Ohioans have been fully vaccinated so far, and every day we’re getting closer to emerging from this pandemic,” DeWine said.

DeWine said at the news conference that a portion of the vaccines are being set aside to be booked through the work of community partners, such as the NAACP, community support organizations and faith-based organizations.

“Many underserved communities rely on community partners for information about healthcare and also for the delivery of healthcare,” DeWine said.

“So it just makes sense to be using these community partners to reach everyone.”

If the community partners don’t fill the allotted appointments within 48 hours before each clinic day, those appointments will be made available to the public. Appointments that are canceled will also be available to the public for booking.