KENT, Ohio — The Portage County Health District opened its newest weekly mass vaccination site Tuesday at Kent State University’s field house, with the ability to administer more than 2,200 vaccinations in a day.
Portage County Health Commissioner Joseph Diorio told News 5 the plan is to expand vaccinations even further.
“For these appointments, we scheduled 80 people every 15 minutes,” he said. “As we grow into this facility, we’ll be able to get up to 3,000 or 4,000 people a day.”
For the past two months, residents traveled to nearby Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, where they administered 4,452 vaccines over that stretch.
Diorio showed News 5 the layout of the new mass vaccination site, which runs almost from endzone to endzone inside.
He said moving forward, any resident of Ohio can sign up for an appointment at the site.
“This is what we wanted to do,” he said. “We wanted to, as an agency for the Portage County Health District, to be able to vaccinate the population in need in Portage County and surrounding counties. It’s not just open for Portage County residents, but anyone who registers will be able to get a vaccine if they live in Ohio.”
Among those administering vaccines is Kent State University senior nursing student Kaley Kralovic, one of about 60 taking part.
“It means everything to me,” she said. “As a senior, we’re graduating in a couple months here. Going into the nursing field, this is really exciting to get to see this hands-on right when it’s happening.”
The Portage County Health District plans for this appointment-only mass vaccination site to stay open every Tuesday from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. through at least the end of spring.
To secure an appointment, head to the Portage County Health District website, where you can sign up to be added to their scheduling list.