COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday that beginning next week, COVID-19 vaccinations will take place at college campuses in an effort he says to increase the percentage of college students being vaccinated across the state.
"We are going to try to vaccinate every college student in the state who wants the vaccine. We have the ability to do this with Johnson & Johnson next week," said DeWine.
DeWine said Thursday that he has spoken to presidents at universities who want vaccinations on campus to happen.
“We believe that it will increase the percentage of those college students actually get the vaccine, doing it on campus with a large number of people on campus, it’s very efficient, but we also believe that more of the college students will opt to get that vaccine if they can get it right there, and they can get at the same time that their peers."
With many colleges out of school for the summer beginning in May, DeWine said there is a limited period of time to vaccinate as many college students as possible before they leave campus and go to their homes around the state.
“The evidence clearly shows that they [college students] are significant carriers because of their interactions with other people," he said.
DeWine said while his administration has started working with universities on vaccination arrangements, he recognized vaccinations not every college will be completed by next week. The governor did not specify which universities will receive campus vaccinations first.
Visit our Vaccinating Ohio page for the latest updates on Ohio's vaccination program, including links to sign up for a vaccine appointment, a map of nearby vaccination sites, a detailed breakdown of the state's current vaccine phase, and continuing local coverage of COVID-19 vaccines in Northeast Ohio.
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