By Farnoush Amiri and Andrew Welsh-Huggins Associated Press/Report for America, and staff
COLUMBUS – Healthcare workers, emergency medical personnel and nursing home residents will be at the front of the line when over a half million doses of coronavirus vaccine are distributed in Ohio later this month, Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday.
If federal regulators approve the use of the vaccines developed by drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna, DeWine says he was told the state should expect the first shipment of nearly 99,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine around Dec. 15.
During the first phase of the distribution (see above), 9,750 doses will go to 10 prepositioned hospital sites across the state and 88,725 vaccines will go to Walgreens and CVS retailers to administer to residents and workers in congregate care settings, healthcare workers and those involved in the care of COVID-19 patients, EMS responders, and vulnerable individuals who live together in close proximity and those who care for them.
A shipment of 201,000 vaccines from Moderna is expected around Dec. 22, which will be dispensed 98 hospitals to vaccinate those dealing with COVID patients and 108 local health departments, which will vaccinate first responders, DeWine said in a briefing.
Another shipment of 123,000 doses from Pfizer, also due on Dec. 22, will go to Walgreen and CVS for vaccination of those in congregate care settings, such as nursing homes, assisted living centers and mental health facilities.
A few days later, DeWine says the state expects to get another 148,000 vaccines from Pfizer and 89,000 vaccines from Moderna.
Our goal is to get it out as quickly as we can,” said DeWine, adding that he and his wife, Fran DeWine, will get the vaccine as soon as their turn comes.
Although people receiving the vaccine must receive two doses, supplies of the second dose aren’t being held back and will be provided by mid-January, DeWine said.
Symptoms from the vaccine could include a sore arm and a headache. People might feel “off-kilter” for about a day, said Dr. Joseph Gastaldo, an infectious disease expert at the OhioHealth medical system.
Vaccine distribution comes as cases are hitting record highs in Ohio. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Ohio has risen over the past two weeks from 7,451 on Nov. 19 to 9,158 on Dec. 3, according to an Associated Press analysis of data provided by The COVID Tracking Project. One in every 182 people in Ohio tested positive in the past week.
The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths in Ohio has risen over the past two weeks from 33 deaths on Nov. 19 to 68 on Dec. 3, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The state on Friday reported 10,114 new confirmed and probable cases, the fourth highest daily total of the nine-month-old pandemic, bringing the number of Ohioans who have been infected with the disease to 459,963 with 6,882 deaths.
There were 392 additional hospital admissions, meaning that COVID-19 patients now take up 18.5% of the state’s inpatient capacity.