COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s colleges and universities are prepping COVID-19 vaccination clinics for students next week.
At a vaccination clinic in New Carlisle, Ohio Friday morning, Gov. Mike DeWine said his office has received a strong response to the state’s plan to open clinics for students on campuses.
“Every college in the state has agreed to have us on the campus to vaccinate,” he said. “We have a month to do this, because most schools are out around May 1.”
Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday that the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be distributed to schools in hopes to have most college students vaccinated before summer break.
The push next week is due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the state, primarily driven by the 20-30 age group.
“This will really start on Monday and take place over the next few weeks after that. If we look at college students, we know that they are big spreaders because they interact socially with people quite a bit,” the governor said.
Here are the colleges that have released plans for vaccination clinics:
Ohio University
Clinics will be held starting Wednesday at Heritage Hall on Ohio University’s main campus in Athens. Vaccinations will be offered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Students will receive texts from the university about details on times and dates, and instructions on how to schedule an appointment online.
The university is working on distributing future doses to regional campuses, but as of Friday, they will only be offered on the main campus.
University of Cincinnati
UC Health will be administering the vaccines. University officials said Thursday students will receive an email in the next week about how to schedule appointments.
Although it’s not known when UC health will receive the vaccine shipment, clinics are planned for the week of April 10.
University health officials estimate up to 3,000 doses could be distributed each day.
Kent State University
The Portage County Health Department has been holding a vaccination clinic every Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Kent State Field House and will continue to do so for Pfizer and Moderna shots.
The university said it’s not yet known how many doses of J&J it will receive next week, but expects “a large quantity.”
Plans are still being worked out, but the university expects to distribute them at the Kent State Ice Arena or the Field House.
Teachers have been asked to excuse students from classes to get the vaccine.
University of Akron
The University of Akron said it will have a series of clinics for students beginning April 8. Students are being asked to complete an interest survey by April 5, according to school officials.
NEW: The University of Akron will hold a series of COVID vaccination clinics (Johnson & Johnson vaccine – requires only one dose) for enrolled UA students beginning Thursday, April 8.
Be sure to complete the interest survey by April 5. More details: https://t.co/MYOc1IhZj6 pic.twitter.com/HH5vVOD6h0
— The University of Akron (@uakron) April 1, 2021
Pop-up clinics could be organized at the Unviersity’s Wayne and Medina branches if there is sufficient interest from the survey.
The university has partnered with an independent pharmacy, Klein’s in Cuyahoga Falls, to vaccinate its students.
Ohio State University
Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center announced that along with the J&J allocation, the health center will distribute 25% of its first-dose supply to students.
Starting April 9, faculty and students will be able to make appointments through MyChart, with vaccinations offered from April 14-20.
The Wexner Center estimates nearly 30% of the university community has already received or is scheduled to receive the first dose.
Cedarville University
Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday morning Cedarville University is among the partners, which is important because the school is experiencing an outbreak, he said.
“Some of the hotspots can be on college campuses, for example at Cedarville, we know there is significant spread,” DeWine said Friday.
The governor said a Cedarville campus zip code is in the top 10 in the state for COVID-19 incidence recently.
“Going into the college campuses, has multiple effects: It has the immediate effect of really kind of sealing off that college campus, so it does not become a big spreader in the community, but second, it also means those students who will be going back home around May 1 will not be able to spread it out to the communities where they’re going,” DeWine said.
This story will be updated to include more colleges as they announce their plans.