News

SARTA/Lifecare teaming up to provide free Covid-19 vaccinations during Stark County Fair, Ohio Medicaid and MyCare members age 12 and up who get first

August 30, 2021

This year the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) and Lifecare Family Health and Dental Center are teaming up to bring a new attraction to the Fair: the transit system’s mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic. Life care nurses will administer vaccine injections (Johnson & Johnson as available, otherwise, the first dose of Moderna) in a SARTA bus on the following days:

·        Wednesday, September 1, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

·        Thursday, September 2, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

·        Friday, September 3, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

No appointment is necessary. The mobile clinic will be located at the North Gate entrance to the fair.

In addition to the free vaccine, Ohio Medicaid and MyCare members aged 12 and older who receive their first dose during the fair will receive a $100 gift card as part of Ohio’s “Vax on the Spot” program. The Ohio Department of Medicaid has teamed up with five managed care plans with the goal of vaccinating 900,000 members against COVID-19 by the end of the year. The plans are working with community based organizations, pharmacies, doctors’ offices, local schools and health departments to bring COVID-19 vaccination into local communities.  For details on where to go to get a free COVID vaccination, go to www.COVIDVaxOnTheSpot.com.

Since first hitting the road in March the mobile clinic has crisscrossed Stark and Wayne County providing over 1,700 trips to vaccine locations and vaccines combined at a wide variety of locations including police and fire departments, libraries, McDonald’s, malls and shopping centers, government administration buildings, schools, churches, apartment complexes, and manufactured home parks. Nurses from the Canton City Health Department, the Stark County Health Department, as well as Lifecare have dispensed over a thousand doses of Moderna, Pfizer Bio N Tech, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

“I want to thank the staff at both health departments and Lifecare, everyone who agreed to host a clinic, and our employees for all they have done to make this lifesaving program a success,” SARTA CEO Kirt Conrad said.

Conrad said the Vaccine Bus would remain on the road for the foreseeable future. SARTA continues to look for new partners and opportunity give additional shots. Anyone interested in hosting a clinic can contact Jack Thompson by calling 330-477-2782.