COLUMBUS – More than 1 million Ohioans will join the ranks of those eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines later this week when residents age 50 and older can sign up.
Governor Mike DeWine announced Monday that Ohioans with Type II diabetes and who are in the final stages of kidney disease will be eligible.
DeWine estimated there are approximately 1.2 million Ohioans between the ages of 50 and 59.
For the first time since October, the state reported fewer than 1,000 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.
There were 735 new cases, bringing the total number of Ohioans infected by the coronavirus to 979,471.
Data reported on weekends are frequently low compare to other days of the week. There were 1,254 new cases Monday, which is still below the 21-day average.
Meanwhile, mass vaccination clinics are scheduled to open in Columbus and over a dozen other locations around Ohio as the state reports the first 1 million Ohioans have been inoculated against the COVID-19 virus.
Gov. Mike DeWine Friday announced 15 long-term mass vaccination clinics equipped to administer up to 3,000 vaccines a day will open with support from the Ohio Department of Health and the Emergency Management Agency (see map, above).
One of those clinics, operated by Columbus Public health, will be located at the Celeste Center at the Ohio Expo Center.
Also, DeWine announced that 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine will be dedicated two pop-up mass vaccination sites at Kroger stores in Columbus and Cincinnati, which will offer 12,500 first doses apiece, later this month. People who receive a first dose at these locations will be guaranteed the chance to receive second doses.
A mass vaccination clinic with the capacity to administer 6,000 COVID-19 vaccines a day will open in Cleveland will open on March 17 at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland after state and federal officials designated the area based on its proximity to high-risk communities and medically underserved populations, DeWine announced.
The doses that will be administered at the center will be in addition to the state’s regular vaccine allotment after many governors became reluctant to take part if it meant sharing part of their statewide allocation, he said.
Over 1.1 million Ohioans have been vaccinated so far, approximately 9.5% of the state’s total population.
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There were 33 new hospital admissions reported Sunday and 820 patients were being treated in hospitals statewide for the virus, occupying 3% of the state’s available hospital beds. A total of 50,881 Ohioans have been hospitalized since the pandemic began.
There were 35, 314 active cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and the state’s positivity rate was 3.2%.