![Seeking a COVID-19 vaccine? Here's how Summit County residents 80 and older can get vaccinated (1) Seeking a COVID-19 vaccine? Here's how Summit County residents 80 and older can get vaccinated (1)](https://i0.wp.com/sixerswire.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2021/01/14/NABJ/afe5de85-43d5-435f-a656-6079b00a1a12-pharmacy_confusion.jpg?width=660&height=473&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Editor's Note: This article was published with the most up-to-date information available when it was published, but it may have changed since then as the COVID-19 pandemic and response continue to evolve. For the most up-to-date information, visit beaconjournal.com.
Jerry Lewis of Hudson picked up the phone Thursday morning and began calling local pharmacies on a listfrom Summit County Public Healthto schedule an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Lewis, 83, and his wife, who is 82, are eligible to get the vaccines starting next week, when Ohio residents 80 and older can be vaccinated.
But Lewis and others in this first wave of the general public eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine are struggling to find details about howto get theirshot.
When Lewis called local pharmacies, most didn't know they were on the list of vaccine providers or had no information to share.
More:Here are the pharmacies offering a COVID-19 vaccine in Summit County
"One of them said,‘We haven’t heard from the Feds’ and the other one, ‘We don’t know anything yet.’ They were both very polite,” said Lewis, an emeritus professor of sociology from Kent State University who taught for 51 years.
Summit County Public Health spokeswoman Marlene Martin said she couldn’t say why pharmacies would say they were not notified. All pharmacies on the list were called on Wednesday before the list was released, but Martin said it is possible the information had not yet been relayed to those answering the phone.
Lewis said he has been impressed with the science and swiftness of the vaccine development, but as an academic he worries about the logistics of getting the shots to patients.
“I think we were hitting home runs and we’re starting to strike out,” he said.
More:Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine in Summit County?
No centralized process exists for Summit County residents to get vaccinated. Instead, each provider will have a separate registration process.
Local vaccine providers include the health department, hospitals, federally qualified health centers and multiple pharmacy locations. Each provider is expected to receive a few hundred doses. There is no cost for the vaccine and no insurance is required. Insurance may be billed for administration of the vaccine.
Here is what we know so far about how you can sign up for a shot if you are 80 and older.
Summit County Public Health
The health department is not yet sure when it will receive its shipment of vaccines or what days it will then be able to administer shots next week, Martin said.
Summit County Public Health established a sign-up to receive information only on getting a COVID-19 vaccine at www.tinyurl.com/SCPHvaccine.
When appointments are available, the department will send an email through the registry to let people who are 80 and olderknow. It will have a self-registration link to schedule the appointment on a first-come, first–served basis. There is a very limited amount of vaccines expected, Martin said.
Acme
Acme is working to ensure customers will have access to the vaccines as soon as they are available to the grocer, said Katie Swartz, vice president of marketing.
“We encourage all community members to visit www.acmestores.com and create or update their accounts so that we can communicate with them about the vaccine. We will share information about COVID-19 vaccine availability on www.acmestores.com," she said.
Acme is only receiving a limited supply to start, so “per the state and local health department rules, these doses are reserved for community members that are 80 years and older, and they will only be available at our Montrose and Portage Lakes Acme Fresh Market Pharmacies,” she said.
All Acme pharmacies are ready to administer the COVID-19 vaccine when supplies allow, she said, and customers can call the pharmacies for more information.
AxessPointe Community Health Centers
AxessPointe is expecting to get 100 doses of the Moderna vaccine sometime next week, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Edward Scott said.It will only be giving doses at its community health center on South Arlington Street in Akron. People must make an appointment.
The organization set up a dedicated phone line for scheduling vaccine appointments; call330-564-2477. Scott said AxessPointe is planning to keep a list of people interested in getting a vaccine.
“Our intent is to keep an ongoing list of people who are interested that we will call when they fall into the correct phase,” Scott said.
He said AxessPointe is working on setting up an online portal, but only has the phone line as of Thursday.
Scott said AxessPointe will set up specific days for vaccine clinics. The first one will likely be next weekend. Patients will need to walk in to get the vaccine. Drive-up events may be scheduled later.
Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle spokesperson Jannah Jablonowski said the grocer’s listed pharmacies “will be prepared to begin scheduling qualifying Ohio residents as early as next Wednesday, Jan, 20. Qualifying residents are encouraged to call their local Giant Eagle Pharmacy beginning next Wednesday to see if their pharmacy has received vaccine and if a vaccine appointment can be scheduled.”
There is no online scheduling portal, but she said the grocer hopes to have information to share in the coming days.
Cleveland Clinic
(Editor's note: This change was updated late Friday, Jan. 15):
The Cleveland Clinic changed its vaccination policy Friday night and now is contacting its most vulnerable patients 80 and older via phone calls or its MyChart electronic medical records to schedule their vaccination appointments.
The Clinic has about 3,400 doses available at this time for patients 80 and older.
The Cleveland Clinic is encouraging patients to enroll in MyChart, which will be the primary method of contacting patients once they are eligible to receive the vaccine. To sign up for MyChart, visit www.clevelandclinic.org/mychart
Summa Health System
Summa will administer a limited supply of vaccines on its Akron campus next week for members of the general public who are 80 and older. You do not need to be a Summa patient.
People in the eligible age group can call234-867-7110 beginning at 8 a.m. Monday to schedule a vaccination. Advance appointments are not being made for future age groups. No online signup is available. An appointment must be made, and walk-ins will not be accepted. Additional information also is available at www.summahealth.org/vaccine
University Hospitals
People in Group 1B (school employees, people 65 and older and younger people with severe congenital, developmental or early-onset medical disorders) can pre-register at https://vaccine.uhhospitals.org/to schedule a vaccine appointment.You don’t have to be a prior UH patient to register to receive a vaccine fromUH.
The first appointments for people 80 and older will be available as soon as Tuesday.
Initially, UH will provide all public COVID-19 vaccinations by appointment only at the UH Management Services Center,3605 Warrensville Center Road, Shaker Heights. UH is exploring opening more locations for public vaccinations in the future.
Western Reserve Hospital
A phone line was going live late Thursday afternoon for people 80 and older to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination at Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls starting next week. Callers do not have to be patients of the hospital. Registrations are only being taken by phone. Call 330-971-7977.
Vaccine information
Gov. Mike DeWine has instructed the state’s Area Agency on Aging organizations to help get information out about the vaccine.
Direction Home, or the Area Agency on Aging that serves Summit, Portage, Stark and Wayne counties, is ready to help older adults navigate information about the vaccine, but is not able to help schedule appointments, said Matt Reed, senior vice president for communications and administration.
Call volume has more than doubled in the last week, so Reed asked for patience in returning phone calls.
“We have a lot of good information on the myths versusrealities of the vaccine, but we’ve been finding the people calling have already made up their mind about the vaccine so they just want to know what the process is,” said Reed.
Reed said the agency may also be able to help people find transportation options to a vaccination appointment and can help people find providers and get signed up for registries.
The number to call Direction Home is 800-421-7277.
Transportation assistance
METRO has been working with Summit County Public Health to coordinate transportation to the health department once vaccines become available to the general public, spokeswoman Claire Merrick said.
METRO’s SCAT or paratransit service, which is available to Summit County residents 62 and older or those who have a temporary or permanent disability that prohibits the person from using the regular bus service, can be scheduled for a medical service to other locations for the vaccine, she said.
When the Summit County health department has its vaccine clinic at its West Akron location, a SCAT customer can schedule a trip. METRO will transport the patient to a specifically designated entrance at the health department, where an employee will escort them to the clinic. The process is expected to last about45 minutes and then the client will be returned home.
If a person is not registered for METRO SCAT service, they can register by calling 330.762.0341. Proof of age and residence are needed to register.
Staff writers Jim Mackinnon and Sean McDonnell contributed to this report. Beacon Journal staff reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ To see her most recent stories and columns, go to www.tinyurl.com/bettylinfisher
More on vaccine
• List of Summit County pharmacies offering vaccine.
• Callers floodStark County vaccine phone line.