Stations where COVID-19 vaccines will be administrated are shown set up at a mass vaccination site, Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at the Lumen Field Events Center in Seattle. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and other officials announced Wednesday that the site would begin operation Saturday, and said at full capacity it would be the largest civilian-run vaccination site in the country. Lumen Field is the home stadium of the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team and the Seattle Sounders MLS soccer team. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

BOARDMAN — The Mahoning Valley’s state-sponsored mass COVID-19 vaccination site will be at the former Dillard’s department store spot at the Southern Park Mall.

The site is expected to open in late March, with specific dates and times when eligible people can get vaccinations made public prior to the opening, Dan Tierney, Gov. Mike DeWine’s spokesman, said Wednesday.

Appointments for the site are not yet available.

The location will be managed by Mahoning County Public Health and the Youngstown City Health District with support from the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

Those eligible for vaccinations can register, when registration is available, at any of the state’s mass vaccination sites, Tierney said.

Eleven state-sponsored permanent vaccine sites, four mobile sites and two pop-up locations in addition to a state / federal site in Cleveland will provide mass vaccinations against COVID-19 statewide.

The state sites will administer between 300 and 3,000 vaccines per day, depending on location, supply and demand. It hasn’t been decided how long all of the locations will remain open. The Cleveland location will provide up to 6,000 vaccines daily.

These sites, like other locations that provide COVID-19 vaccinations, are to inoculate only those who are eligible to receive the shots under the state’s criteria.

The minimum eligible age was lowered today from 60 to 50.

Also eligible are those with certain medical conditions and those working in certain occupations such as child care, at funeral homes, firefighters and law enforcement, corrections and probation officers.

Dillard’s announced in February 2019 that it was closing its store at the Southern Park Mall about three months later.

Boardman SC LLC, a Cafaro Co. subsidiary, purchased the 180,000-square-foot property for $8.92 million the same day Dillard’s announced the closure. The location remains empty.

“We’re happy to help and to offer it at no rent for as long as it’s needed,” Joe Bell, a Cafaro Co. spokesman said. “We’re happy to help workers get shots into the arms.”

The company was approached a few weeks ago about using the location for a mass vaccination site, he said.

“We’ll give health officials the keys and the security codes” to get into the property, Bell said. “They could be in there sometime this week if they want” for preparations.

When DeWine announced mass COVID-19 vaccination sites last Friday throughout the state, several of the specific locations weren’t announced.

Eric Ryan, whose company manages the Youngstown-owned Covelli Centre, said last week that his company had been in discussions about being selected, but a final decision hadn’t been made.

Tierney said Wednesday that last week “we were not able to announce a site as it wasn’t finalized. Now, we have a site finalized.”

dskolnick@tribtoday.com