Coronavirus: When will vaccinations start for Ohioans 65+, school staff and more?

Under Phase 1B an estimated 2,211,000 Ohioans will be eligible for the vaccine.

Those eligible in Phase 1B can start receiving vaccines on the following days:

Ohioans ages 65 and older who are in long-term care facilities will continue to be vaccinated through those facilities.

Those living outside long-term care facilities will receive vaccines from physicians, local health departments, hospitals, federally-qualified health centers, in-home health service providers, as well as some retail pharmacies, DeWine said.

Approximately 1,700 providers have registered to distribute the vaccine, the governor said. On Monday, the state will host a webinar releasing outlines and expectations, as well as instructions for distribution.

Health care providers who have been selected to distribute the vaccine will then be notified and informed of how many shots they will receive on Tuesday.

Local Emergency Management Agencies are being asked to hold press conference next Wednesday and Thursday to announce where vaccinations will be available in their county and how people can receive them, DeWine said.

“Some providers may require appointments, some may hold drive-up clinics or take walk-ins, but we expect every provider to clearly state how they will administer vaccinations to eligible individuals,” the governor said.

More details about how Ohioans with severe medical disorders and school staff can be vaccinated will be released at a later day, DeWine said.

This week the state is sending forms to K-12 school superintendents asking them to agree to go back to in-person learning or a hybrid by March 1.

“That is a condition of getting the vaccine,” DeWine said. “We will be asking schools to send us the number of staff they believe will choose to take the vaccination and indicate if they are already working with partners for vaccine administration.”

The state will launch a tool at coronavirus.ohio.gov showing Ohioans where vaccines are being distributed and to what eligible groups.

“Vaccines from the manufacturer are usually delivered on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week,” DeWine said. “We anticipate those providers that receive their vaccines on Monday, Jan. 18, will start distributing on Tuesday.”

With Ohio typically receiving about 100,000 vaccines a week and vaccinations continuing for Phase 1A, it is likely that it will take some time to get through Phase 1B, DeWine explained.

However, the governor noted that Ohio will likely start receiving more vaccinations each week as vaccinations continue.

As of Thursday, 221,302 people in Ohio have received the first dose of the vaccine, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are two doses.

Ohio plans to start distributing second doses tomorrow.

More than 10,000 daily cases of coronavirus were reported Thursday in Ohio, the most reported since Dec. 17.

On both Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, coronavirus totals included cases from the pervious days.

There have been 753,068 total cases reported in Ohio.

Hospitalizations increased by 365 for a total of 40,469.

As of Thursday, there were 4,180 coronavirus patients in Ohio hospitals, according to ODH, with 1,165 in southwest Ohio. It’s the second day in a row that the region’s COVID-19 inpatient total decreased.

Coronavirus patients account for16.08% of hospital beds in southwest Ohio, with 28.27% (2,049 beds) open.

Of the region’s ICU beds, 270 are occupied by COVID-19 patients (23.68%) and 221 beds (19.39%) are available.

Ohio added 27 ICU admissions to its total Thursday, bringing it to 6,092.

Ninety-four deaths were reported for a total of 9,462.