Portage Health District offering COVID vaccine clinics to combat virus

Ohio reported 18,942 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and a record number of hospitalizations at 6,177. In Portage County, 89 new cases have been reported since Saturday alone.

In an effort to combat the virus, the Portage County Health District is offering walk-in vaccine clinics from 2 to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in January, beginning today. The clinics take place at the Portage County Health District located on the second floor at 705 Oakwood Street, Ravenna.

The health district also will provide COVID-19 vaccines during its regular children's vaccine clinics every Wednesday from 8 a.m.to noon by appointment. Adults can schedule appointments for Tuesday adult vaccine clinics, which run from 8 a.m. to noon.

Call 330-296-9919, ext. 135 to schedule an appointment.

Vaccine appointments are also available at area CVS and Walgreens stores, but you may have to wait a few days to get an appointment.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday expanded the Emergency Use Authorization of a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to include youths 12 to 15.

The booster dose is the same strength as the dose approved in the primary series. A booster dose was previously authorized by the FDA for emergency use for those 16 years of age and older.

The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention still must sign off on the authorization.

COVID testing

The demand for testing remains high in Portage County and surrounding areas.

Portage County health district is no longer offering its walk-in COVID testing clinic at NEOMED, which was open in November in December. It is also currently out of free home testing kits. Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna and Kent Free Library have received home tests in the past to hand out to patrons, but anyone interested should call the libraries first to inquire whether they are available.

Test kits may be available to purchase at area pharmacies, but when stores get shipments, they often are sold out quickly.

Testing appointments are also available at area CVS and Walgreens stores, but you may have to wait a few days, or travel a bit, to get an appointment. A check on CVS's website shows it's a bit easier to get an appointment if you're testing because you've been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID or if you have symptoms.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: 2022 COVID-19 vaccine clinics announced for residents age 5 and up