COLUMBUS – Older Ohioans are next in line to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, though there is admittedly not enough supply to meet the demand.
Beginning on Jan. 19, the 420,000 Ohioans 80 years of age and older will get top priority for the shots but the state is only expected to receive 100,000 doses during the first week of distribution, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday.
“With up to 420,000 people 80 years and above, and only 100,000 doses available the first week, it will take several weeks to vaccinate those 80 years of age and older. Phase 1B will take a few weeks, and a lot of coordination in distribution,” he told reporters during his regular coronavirus briefing.
During what has been to Phase 1B of the vaccine rollout, the shots will be administered by approximately 1,700 physicians, local health departments, hospitals, federally qualified health centers, in-home health service providers and some retail pharmacies which have registered with the Ohio Department of Health.
Additional groups of residents will become eligible every week, with the age of eligibility being moved forward five years per week. Those 75 and older become eligible on Jan. 25, the following week vaccinations will be available to those 65 years of age and older, and so on.
“We’re creating a situation, yes, where there’s a lot more demand than there is supply because we cannot waste one of these [doses], and so we have to make sure the supply is sufficient to draw out every week,” DeWine said.
Vaccinations for Ohioans with severe congenital, developmental, or early onset medical disorders will also be available the week of Jan. 25 and details about distribution for that group will be announced later, DeWine said.
During the week of Feb. 1, Governor DeWine announced that vaccinations will be available for school personnel, keeping with DeWine’s stated goal of resuming full in-person and hybrid learning by March 1.
As of Thursday, 221,302 Ohioans had received the first of two vaccine doses, representing 1.9% of the state’s total population.
The state reported 10,251 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, far above the 21-day average, bringing the total number of cases to 753,068 with 9,462 confirmed and probable deaths.
Another 365 patients were admitted to hospitals I n Ohio over the past 24 hours. A total of 40,469 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic.
The 4,180 patients currently in hospital beds represent 15.13% of the state’s total inpatient capacity.
The seven-day positivity rate in Ohio was 14.8%.