FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2021
MEDIA CONTACT: Cody Hefner, (513) 608-5777, chefner@cincymuseum.org

Cincinnati Museum Center and Freedom Center offering free COVID-19 vaccines May 22 & 29

Museums partnering with TriHealth to help vaccinate community

CINCINNATI – In an effort to protect their community and combat COVID-19, Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will host COVID-19 vaccine clinics courtesy of TriHealth. Eligible individuals can walk in to receive their vaccine for free on May 22 at the Freedom Center and May 29 at CMC.

TriHealth will be administering free Johnson & Johnson vaccines at the Freedom Center from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 22 and at CMC from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 29. Receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine means guests need just a single shot to complete their vaccine journey. Walk-ins are welcome but people can register in advance by calling (513) 873-7124 or visiting https://www.trihealth.com/coronavirus/vaccine-scheduling.

Respected physician Dr. O’dell Owens will participate in both vaccine clinics, answering questions about the vaccine’s efficacy and effectiveness and emphasizing the importance of every person getting vaccinated. Dr. Owens’s counsel will be an important factor in building trust in the COVID-19 vaccines as healthcare professionals work to increase vaccination rates among the Black and Brown communities.

“The path to beating COVID-19 is through vaccination,” says Woodrow Keown, Jr., president & COO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “There has been well-earned distrust in the Black and Brown communities around vaccines throughout our nation’s history but we stand by all COVID-19 vaccines and urge every member of our community to protect themselves, protect their families and protect their community by getting vaccinated.”

To make the vaccine more accessible to the community, guests will not be required to pay admission to the museums to receive their vaccine on those dates. As an added incentive, every guest who receives their vaccine at one of the two clinics will get one ticket for free admission for that day.

“We are grateful for TriHealth’s partnership in ending this deadly pandemic and we share their commitment to vaccinating our entire community against the threat of COVID-19,” says Elizabeth Pierce, president & CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center and CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “We’re proud to do our part by opening our facilities to TriHealth’s team and our community to make that happen.”

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About Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) at Union Terminal is a nationally recognized institution and national historic landmark. Dedicated to sparking community dialogue, insight and inspiration, CMC was awarded the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2012. CMC is one of a select few museums in the nation with both of these honors, making it a unique asset and a vital community resource. Union Terminal has been voted the nation's 45th most important building by the American Institute of Architects. Organizations within CMC include the Cincinnati History Museum, Duke Energy Children's Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science, Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater and Cincinnati History Library & Archives. Recognized by Forbes Traveler Magazine as the 17th most visited museum in the country, CMC welcomes more than 1.8 million visits annually. For more information, visit www.cincymuseum.org.

About the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in August 2004 on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Since then, more than 1.3 million people have visited its permanent and changing exhibits and public programs, inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom. Two million people have utilized educational resources online at freedomcenter.org, working to connect the lessons of the Underground Railroad to inform and inspire today’s global and local fight for freedom. Partnerships include Historians Against Slavery, Polaris Project, Free the Slaves, US Department of State and International Justice Mission. In 2014, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center launched a new online resource in the fight against modern slavery, endslaverynow.org.