Ohio will begin Phase 1B in two weeks, DeWine said Tuesday, while still administering second doses to some members of Phase 1A, such as assisted living residents who will receive their first shots after Ohio nursing homes receive theirs.
Phase 1A prioritized giving Ohio’s limited supply of vaccines to approximately 1 million Ohioans: frontline health care workers, emergency medical service personnel, and residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Phase 1B is made up of approximately 2 million Ohioans and will prioritize school staff, adults age 65 and older and people with certain medical conditions.
“In the next few days we will make it very clear where people can get a vaccine,” DeWine said.
The state plans to utilize drive-thrus, fairgrounds and individual health care systems to get the vaccine out. More than 1,600 health care providers have signed up to serve as potential locations to distribute the vaccine, he added.
On Tuesday, the Ohio Department of Health reported 7,580 new daily cases of coronavirus, bringing the state’s total to 735,003 and Ohio recorded 104 deaths, bringing the state’s total to 9,247.
At least 175,408 Ohioans have received the first dose of a two-dose coronavirus vaccine regimen. That’s about 1.5% of Ohio’s population and about 18% of the 1 million people estimated to be in Phase 1A.
Trouble in nursing homes
Many nursing home residents are highly susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19 but younger workers “often believe that it’s no big deal,” said Peter Van Runkle, executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association, a trade association representing long-term care providers in Ohio.
“Yeah, maybe you won’t get that sick, but then you’re bringing it into the facility and you may give it to somebody else who is not as fortunate as you,” he said.
Approximately half of Ohio’s coronavirus-related deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. Industry leaders said a lack of trust and wide-spread misinformation are contributing to the low uptake rates among staff. However, vaccination rates could improve as the state, unions, industry associations and nursing homes race to educate workers on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
This week is critical since many Ohio nursing homes are about to have their second clinic next week, Ohio Department of Aging Director Ursel McElroy said.
The state’s congregate living facilities are primarily receiving their vaccines through a federal partnership with retail pharmacies. In this program, a pharmacy will visit a facility on three separate days to give the two-dose regimen three weeks apart to any staff and residents who want it. If an individual passes on the first dose on the second visit, the state can’t guarantee when they will get the second dose, DeWine said.
Pharmacies have administered coronavirus vaccines at 61% of Ohio’s nursing homes as of Sunday. Many residents and staff will start receiving their second doses Friday.
The Ohio Department of Aging is hosting nine virtual roundtable discussions this week allowing long-term care providers to ask experts about coronavirus vaccines.
Staff vaccination rates vary widely between facilities, Van Runkle said, with reports from member facilities of uptake rates ranging from 20% to 100%.
At Bethany Village, a nursing home in Centerville, just over 50% of staff members are opting to get the shot, according to Ryan Ireland, a spokesman for Graceworks Lutheran Services. About 100 Bethany Village employees opted to receive the shot at the first clinic and an additional 200 employees have signed up in time for the second clinic next week, Ireland said.
“There was some reticence amongst the employees, and they wanted to see their other co-workers get the vaccine first and that’s built some confidence,” he said. “There is a lot of misinformation, especially on social media, about the vaccine and the demographics for social media skews younger. And there’s also the sense of, ‘Well if I’m younger, I’m not as vulnerable.’”
Meanwhile, about 90% of the nursing home’s residents have opted to get the shot and Graceworks estimates that over 95% of the approximate 600 residents at its Centerville campus including independent living, assisted living and the nursing home will opt for the shot.
“Having talked with several folks who are in that age bracket, they remember polio,” Ireland said. “They remember vaccines being successful in the past.”
An informal poll of Ohio nursing home workers in the Service Employees International Union indicated employees are concerned the “vaccine appeared rushed and unproven without enough data to show that it would be effective.”
In a statement released Monday, Becky Williams, president of the union’s chapter covering Ohio, said trust issues exist for frontline health care workers, some of which preceded the pandemic.
About the Authors
