BOARDMAN TWP., Ohio - The Mahoning County Department of Health held a test run Wednesday of its mass vaccination site at the Southern Park Mall.

The regional mass vaccination center will be operated in the former Dillard’s store by the Mahoning County Public Health Office and the Youngstown City Health District, and support from the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

The department had 820 doses of the Moderna vaccine to go through at its "soft opening."

The site will then be open to all people of the region when regular COVID-19 vaccinations beginning in April.

The facility, which is being provided rent-free by the Cafaro family, is expected to be open through the end of May.

"It's been very successful, very streamlined, a lot of planning that went into this over the past two-and-a-half weeks and we're just looking forward to opening up our full regional site where we can vaccinate from 1,250 to 1,600 a day," said Mahoning County Health Commissioner Ryan Tekac. 

The mass vaccination center will be capable of vaccinating 2,500 people per week and will be able to increase to 5,000 per week as more vaccine supply becomes available.

The vaccination site is expected to open every Friday and Saturday during the 60-day clinic.

Once the mass vaccination clinic officially gets underway, Tekac said people will receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is only one shot. 

Tekac said they hope to have more appointments available this week. 

Those eligible to receive the vaccine, under the vaccination guidelines for the state may sign up using the Armor Vax app.

Tekac said that the process will be very similar to the vaccination clinic that the health department conducted at the Austintown Senior Center. 

"Somebody comes in with an appointment, they're registered, they go through a quick check-in process, receive a vaccine, wait for the 15 minutes and out the door in a half-hour," said Tekac. "We're very fortunate to be able to have a process that we've been doing for two months that gets somebody in and out streamlined."

He said there is also going to be a lot of community support to help reach that goal for the mass vaccinations, including help from Mercy Health, Southwoods Health, Akron Children's Hospital, the Direction Home of Eastern Ohio and other volunteers. 

WRTA is reminding Mahoning County residents that rides are free through June 30, 2021, as more COVID-19 vaccine clinics are announced.

In addition to the Dillard’s site, a larger vaccination clinic will be held at the Covelli Centre on April 1.

WRTA routes to the clinics can be found below.

TAKING A WRTA BUS TO THE COVELLI CENTRE CLINIC

The following WRTA Fixed Route buses can be taken to Covelli Centre:

5-South Outbound (leaves Federal Station 40 minutes after the hour)

5-South Inbound (stops in front of Covelli Centre at 26 minutes after the hour)

15-Struthers Outbound (leaves Federal Station 10 minutes after the hour)

15-Struthers Inbound (stops in front of Covelli Centre at 55 minutes after the hour)

16-Buckeye Outbound (leaves Federal Station 10 minutes after the hour)

16-Buckeye Inbound (stops in front of Covelli Centre at 57 minutes after the hour)

Riders who live in other parts of the WRTA Fixed Route service area can take their bus to Federal Station and then transfer to one of the above routes.

TAKING A WRTA BUS TO THE CLINIC AT THE FORMER DILLARD'S

The Mahoning County Health Department mass vaccination clinic held in the former Dillard's department store at the Southern Park Mall will be served by WRTA's 26-Boardman East Loop.

This bus leaves the shelter near the PNC Bank Branch between Market Street and the mall at 55 minutes past the hour.

On days when the clinic is operating, it will travel to the clinic entrance (the south-facing entrance to the former Dillard's) before proceeding to the rest of its route.

Riders can connect with this bus at the shelter by taking any of the following buses:

5-South (arrives at the shelter at 20 minutes after the hour)

7-Glenwood (arrives at the shelter at 45 minutes after the hour)

8-Market (arrives at the shelter at 5 minutes and 35 minutes after the hour)

25-Boardman/Canfield Loop (arrives at the shelter at 40 minutes after the hour)

Riders who live in other parts of the WRTA Fixed Route service area can take their bus to Federal Station and then transfer to the 5-South, 7-Glenwood or 8-Market buses.

Those who are leaving the clinic after their appointment must ride the 26-Boardman East Loop to the end of the line before it returns to the shelter.

OTHER WRTA OPTIONS FOR GETTING TO VACCINATION CLINICS

Registered riders who are ADA-eligible or 65 and older and are not able to or have difficulty using Fixed Route bus service can use WRTA's ADA All-Access service.

Mahoning County residents who live beyond areas served by Fixed Route buses can use WRTA's countywide service.

Rides on these small-vehicle services must be scheduled no later than 24 hours prior to the trip.

Information about these services, as well as schedules for all Fixed Route buses, can be found on WRTA's website or by calling 330-744-8431.