COLUMBUS, Ohio – More than 400,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine will have been delivered to the state by Christmas and Ohio will have received more than half a million by the new year, Governor Mike DeWine said Tuesday.
DeWine also stressed during a COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday that the vaccines currently available require two doses. Ohioans need to get both or they won’t get vaccinated against the coronavirus, he said.
“One thing to keep in mind is that according to protocol it is very important that the person who got the first shot gets the second shot, that he has to get it on time,” he said.
DeWine delivered the following songs:
– This week, the first week of vaccinations in Ohio and the US, the state will have received 98,475 doses of Pfizer, the only vaccine currently to receive federal approval.
Next week, Ohio expects an additional 123,000 Pfizer vaccine doses and 201,900 doses from Moderna, the Boston-based pharmaceutical company with a vaccine due to be approved by the federal government soon. “Combined, this means that Ohio should have received more than 420,000 vaccines by Christmas,” he said.
-During the week that includes New Year, Ohio will receive an additional 148,000 Pfizer vaccines and an additional 89,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
Ohio distributes the vaccine to smaller clinics and health departments – larger health care systems get vaccine doses shipped directly to them. The state is using money from CARES ACT that Congress passed earlier this year to pay for the distribution. There are other potential sources of funding, DeWine said.
CVS and Walgreens, as previously reported, are responsible for vaccinations in nursing homes and other municipal health facilities, which are expected to begin on Friday. The pharmacies will have received the vast majority of the vaccines this week.
Local health departments will be responsible for vaccinating emergency medical workers, unless they work for ambulance companies linked to hospitals, then they will be vaccinated in the hospitals.
The first Ohio hospitals to receive the vaccine each received 975 doses. The first doses go to employees who work directly with COVID-19 patients. There will be more health professionals than available vaccines in the first round of distribution, DeWine said.
“Of course, if you have a hospital the size of the Cleveland Clinic, they have a long way to go,” said DeWine. “So this is just the beginning.”
Kasi Gardner, a nurse in the progressive heart care department at Mercy Health Springfield Regional Medical Center who describes herself as a strong advocate for vaccines, got her first recording on live television Tuesday.
“Well done, it didn’t even hurt,” Gardner said to the woman who administered the vaccine.
Gardner said people can trust the vaccine. If they have any questions, they can contact their doctor just like her. She found that her doctor was enthusiastic about the vaccine, which made her more confident about it, she said.
“I’m fine,” she said when DeWine asked her how she felt after the poke in the arm.
More coverage:
8,766 new coronavirus cases reported in Ohio, 103 more deaths: Tuesday update
Gov. Mike DeWine To Provide Coronavirus Update As Vaccinations Continue Across Ohio: Watch Live