WILMINGTON — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine toured the Ohio Mass Vaccination Site at the Wilmington Air Park and talked with staff, volunteers and people receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations Saturday morning.
“I felt that this would be a great site because of its location not far from the interstate, close to Dayton, not far from Columbus, close to Cincinnati and everything in-between,” DeWine told local officials and media afterward. “As I walked around it was very interesting — we had people from Wilmington, people from the Cincinnati area, from West Chester, and we had people from Columbus, so this is working out very well.”
DeWine added that Kroger Health, which is administering the clinic and the vaccinations, “has done a phenomenal job.”
Kroger Health administered about 2,500 vaccinations over a three-day period at the site. Kroger also continues to offer vaccinations at its stores/pharmacies.
As of Friday, more than 3,571,000 Ohioans had received at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, so “today we’ll go over 3.6 million Ohioans that have gotten their first shot,” DeWine said Saturday.
“This is the 21st stop [at a vaccination clinic] that I’ve had. Every place we go is really exciting. Getting the shot is an opportunity to get back to normal.”
Wilmington Mayor John Stanforth spoke about the site on Saturday.
“It’s an absolute blessing,” said Stanforth. “They’re doing an outstanding job here; hat’s off to [Kroger Health] for doing this. I’m so pleased our citizens are being proactive and getting their vaccinations; it’s just something we all have to do and I’m very proud of our community. We have to get to where those cases are reduced to the levels the governor is after.
”That’s our goal, to get back to normal,” Stanforth added.
Mayor Stanforth — addressing DeWine as well as the public, added “Governor, you and I are about the same age. We remember polio. We remember smallpox. Those aren’t issues anymore.
“Please, get the vaccine.“
How to get your shot
The site began operations Thursday at 1199 Airborne Road, offering the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine at no cost by appointment only.
This week the site will be operating 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 7 through Saturday, April 10 — appointments are now available beginning Thursday, April 8.
This large-scale clinic will run for about 60 days or until vaccine delivery for the region is complete.
All Ohioans age 16 and older are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Kroger Health will administer approximately 3,000 vaccines at the site weekly.
To book an appointment, visit https://www.kroger.com/rx/covid-eligibility or call toll-free 866-211-5320.
