Air Parkmay hostmass vax

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The Wilmington Air Park is on the shortlist for consideration to be a mass COVID-19 vaccination point of distribution (POD) in Southwest Ohio.

In the Southwest Ohio region, two sites are edging toward the top of the list: Kings Island and the Wilmington Air Park, said Clinton County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Thomas Breckel.

Discussions are taking place, he said, but nothing has been decided.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is in the process of looking forward to a time when more vaccines are available, and there’s a need to administer shots to “exponentially larger groups of people,” said Breckel.

As a result, there is an effort to pre-identify locations throughout each state that could be leveraged as mass vaccination points of distribution, he said.

Discussions have focused on locations that could draw in large populations without overwhelming the current environment, Breckel added.

“If you imagine a fully running site administering up to 6,000 vaccinations per day, that is a pretty hefty vehicle footprint,” continued Breckel. “It would impact what is currently taking place in the vicinity. For this reason, planners are looking at locations away from large metro areas, but which would have a sizable population within a 30-minute drive window.

“The Wilmington Air Park certainly meets that objective,” remarked the county’s EMA director.

“Planning discussions are taking place to identify manpower, logistics and operational requirements to make this site feasible. At this time, no decision has been made, as planning discussions are ongoing among Clinton County agencies, ATSG, Southwest Ohio health experts, and state officials,” Breckel said.

If a mass vaccination POD takes place at the air park, the timing will depend upon vaccine availability.

There is still a lot of work to go into the proposal, said Breckel.

Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.

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Discussions taking place, but nothing decided

By Gary Huffenberger

[email protected]

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