SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO—On Saturday, April 3, Summit County Public Health will open the state-sponsored COVID-19 mass vaccination site at the Summit County Fairgrounds in Tallmadge. The site is currently scheduled to be operational for two months. The site will be open 3-4 days per week and will have the ability to accommodate up to 5,000 appointments per week, depending on dose allocation received from the state.
When appointments are available for scheduling, residents can sign up at https:/www.scph.org/covid. A phone option for scheduling will be published on the website before appointments open. Appointments at the mass vaccination site will be scheduled on a first come, first served basis. A complete list of all available vaccine providers in the state of Ohio and access to their scheduling systems is available at https://gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov/.
Summit County Public Health, METRO RTA and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro have collaborated to ensure transportation is not a barrier to accessing appointments at fairgrounds. Beginning March 29, METRO will provide free rides on all fixed route, demand response services to COVID-19 vaccine appointments at any location to individuals with proof of an appointment. For appointments at the fairgrounds, the fixed route service will take riders to the transit center near Chapel Hill Mall, where a shuttle will then take them to the fairgrounds. Following the appointment, the shuttle will return riders back to the transit center near Chapel Hill Mall. METRO buses are a safe alternative to getting to appointments. Each bus has hand sanitizer and is cleaned regularly. Masks are requited at all times and the number of persons per bus is limited.
Executive Shapiro’s Department of Job and Family Services is conducting outreach to clients to share COVID-19 vaccine and transportation information. All residents receiving Medicaid are eligible for free transportation to and from any COVID-19 vaccine appointment. To register for free transportation, Medicaid recipients should call 330-643-8200. The recipient must register before they can schedule a ride. Once registered, they can call 330-376-5353 to schedule a ride to an appointment. If a resident is a Medicaid Managed Care recipient, they may also contact their Managed Care provider directly to schedule free transportation. Contact information for each Managed Care Organization is available at https://www.summitdjfs.org/images/Ohio-Medicaid-COVID-Testing-and-Vaccination-Transportation-Support.pdf.
Summit County Public Health, METRO and Executive Shapiro are also collaborating to conduct outreach in zip codes with the lowest rates of COVID-19 vaccination. The group is working with community organizations and advocates to arrange appointments and transportation to the fairgrounds.
On Thursday, April 1 at 12:00 p.m., Summit County Public Health, METRO, and Summit County Emergency Management Agency will hold a virtual COVID-19 mass vaccine site question and answer session. The event will be live streamed on County Executive Ilene Shapiro’s and SCPH’s Facebook pages. Members of the public and media should ask questions via the Facebook Live chat feature.
