COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that more vaccine is coming to Ohio this week.
He said Johnson & Johnson is now starting to ship, and Ohio will get 96,100 doses in the first week. In total for the week, Ohio is slated to receive 448,390 doses of the various vaccines.
“We’ll be sending the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to more than 200 independent pharmacies around the state,” said DeWine. “Most of these pharmacies had not yet received any vaccine. They’ll also go to local hospitals, health departments, and chain pharmacies.
“There are providers in the state that have vaccine appointments available,” he said, stating that the state now has over 1,200 provider sites.
DeWine also announced “the priority groups we’ve identified to be part of Phase 1C of Ohio’s vaccination program. This includes certain professions and those with certain medical conditions not covered in previous phases.” These include staff in Childcare Services; Funeral Services; and Law Enforcement and Corrections Officers.
He said the entire Phase 1C vaccination group can begin their vaccinations on Thursday, March 4.
Also beginning March 4, Phase 2 of the vaccination program will begin, with a lowering of age eligibility to 60 years of age.
Approximately 246,000 people are eligible under the 1C group; Phase 2 adds approximately 695,000 eligible Ohioans, DeWine said.
DeWine said Monday that approximately 200,000 K-12 school personnel have been vaccinated in Ohio. In January, nearly 50% of Ohio’s students were in districts offering no in-person classes. Today, that number is less than 10%.
As of Monday, the state posted that Clinton County has had 3,400 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, including 64 deaths. A total of 3,167 are listed as Presumed Recovered.
DeWine also touted the fact that “Ohio continues to be ranked as the No. 1 state for new economic development projects per capita” as named by SiteSelection.com. “In cities across Ohio, we continue to see significant new investments being made.”
