COLUMBUS – State health department records show the number of people starting the COVID-19 vaccine has decreased steadily in recent weeks and the DeWine administration is continuing to promote the safety of the vaccines and adopt policies that encourage Ohioans to start getting immunized.
According to the state, 40.39% of Ohio residents had gotten at least one dose of the available vaccines and just over 33% had received all the necessary injections. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their final shot.
The rate of daily vaccinations during the past two weeks has fallen 62% from the rate between April 6-20.
“As those numbers continue to move up, even if they’re moving up slower than they were before, we believe we’re going to see the cases continue to go down,” Gov. Mike DeWine said Monday during a coronavirus briefing.
For the first time since September, the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Ohio Monday was below 1,000. The 995 new cases followed on the heels of the 935 reported Sunday and brought the total number of Ohioans sickened by the virus to 1,075,999 with 19,284 deaths.
DeWine has announced that fully vaccinated employees at nursing homes and assisted living facilities can now skip twice-weekly coronavirus testing, another incentive to boost the number of workers in long-term care facilities willing to receive the vaccine. Workers who are not fully vaccinated will be required to be tested twice a week
DeWine said Monday the change is consistent with federal guidelines.
DeWine said he hopes the change will encourage unvaccinated nursing home employees to take advantage of the opportunity.
The incidence of COVID-19 cases statewide fell again over the last two weeks, to 147.9 per 100,000 residents. DeWine has promised to lift all pandemic health restrictions if the rate falls to 50 per 100,000 for two weeks.
There were 89 new hospital admissions for COVID-19 Monday, with 1,140 patients currently being treated in hospitals for the diseases. In total, 56,642 Ohioans have been hospitalized for the virus.
The seven-day positivity rate was 3.8%.