• Begins next week

• Warns of Increase in Variant Spread

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that the state will begin working with local colleges, universities and workplace to offer vaccination clinics to students and workers on campuses and workplaces across the state.

“These higher-education vaccination clinics will start on various campuses next week and will offer the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” said Governor Mike DeWine.

“Ohio will begin working with employers and other organizations to offer workplace vaccination clinics throughout Ohio beginning the week of April 12.”

Whie giving update on the coronavirus pandemic, Governor DeWine said, “although young people are less likely to get sick from the coronavirus, they are significant carriers of the virus.”

“By offering one-dose clinics on campus, students who wish to be vaccinated will have a nearby, convenient location to get the vaccine with their peers.”

“The goal is to offer on-campus clinics to all of Ohio’s college students before the school year ends in May.”

On vaccinations at workplace, Governor DeWine said, “beginning the week of April 12, vaccine providers can allot up to 25 percent of their vaccine allocation to be used to vaccinate their own employees or to partner with local employers, labor unions, and other organizations to vaccinate their employees at their work locations. “

He warned that, “for the past two Thursdays, Ohio’s statewide average was just under 150 cases per 100,000 population. The two-week case rate has now risen to 167.1 cases per 100,000.”

“New cases had been relatively flat through the month of March, but cases are beginning to increase once again, which demonstrates the necessity that Ohioans choose to be vaccinated. To date, nearly 30 percent of Ohioans have received at least one dose of vaccine.”

Also, Chief medical officer at the Ohio Department of Health Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said, “variant activity continues to rise, closely mirroring what is occurring in the rest of the nation. Michigan is currently experiencing an increase in cases that is more than 3.5 times what Ohio is seeing.”

“And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this increase appears to be driven substantially by variants. Most of Ohio’s rising cases numbers and variant cases are happening in the area of the state bordering Michigan.”

“Ohio remains in a race against a virus that is now more contagious and right back on our heels,” said Dr. Vanderhoff.

“We can win this race as long as we don’t falter; as long as we press on with consistent masking and vaccination, especially in light of this week’s important and encouraging research out of the CDC confirming that the vaccines are powerful protection against COVID-19 and its variants.”