OHIO — Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday Ohio is significantly lowering its expectations for vaccine distribution in December from 660,000 doses to about 500,000.
The governor delivered the disappointing news at around 10:30 a.m. Friday after stating earlier in the morning Ohio was still on track to receive 660,000 doses.
"I checked with my team a few minutes ago, and it looks likes what is on the board for us, and what we're looking at, what's supposed to be coming in December, is a little over 500,000 doses. We thought at one time it was 660,000."
DeWine announced the initial estimate earlier in the day as Ohio kicked off immunizations at nursing homes. His first stop was the Crown Pointe Critical Care in Columbus.
But then, at his second stop at a nursing home in Cleveland, he announced the expected allocation has been reduced. The governor said earlier in Columbus that he hadn't been informed of a reduction in vaccine doses from Pfizer this month.
Pfizer also said there haven't been issues on their end.
“Pfizer has not had any production issues with our COVID-19 vaccine, and no shipments containing the vaccine are on hold or delayed," the company wrote in a statement.
Distribution concerns are mounting nationally with some states reporting 40% reductions in expected allocations.
“We have not seen a problem. In fact, we've been happy that some of the doses of Pfizer contains six or seven doses, so that’s a bonus,” DeWine said earlier in the morning. “They asked me, ‘What are we going to do?’ I said we’re going to keep giving shots.”
Four companies are beginning on-site COVID-19 vaccinations at long-term care facilities in Ohio on Friday.
Gov. Mike DeWine is watching the first day of nursing home immunizations in Columbus, Cleveland, and the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky.
Vaccine shipment numbers are subject to changes in the coming weeks, DeWine said.
“We will not know those numbers, really, until we get them. Until you get them, you don't know you have them,” he said.
CVS, Walgreens, PharmScript and Absolute Pharmacy have been selected to vaccinate nursing home residents using much of the state’s initial allocation of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The governor was asked if the state’s vaccinated nursing homes will be able to resume more visitation opportunities soon.
“We're working on what that will mean, so we don't have anything to announce on that now,” he said.
At Crown Pointe Walgreens was administering shots Friday morning around 7:30 a.m.
Walgreens President John Standley joined the governor in Columbus.
Standley said Walgreens will “rapidly expand” vaccinations nationally in the coming weeks at 35,000 long-term care facilities. Walgreens hopes to vaccine 3 million residents and staff, he said.
DeWine said the state’s pharmacy partners have a key responsibility in the historic distribution effort.
“They have a huge task, as do the other pharmacy partners that we have in Ohio,” the governor said.
Ohio is receiving about 98,000 vaccine doses from Pfizer in the first shipment. Ten packages of about 975 doses were distributed to hospitals, while the remaining 88,725 doses were expected to be used by long-term care facilities.
Nursing home immunizations are expected to begin Friday by all four companies.
Ohio is beginning nursing homes immunizations several days earlier than expected through an early rollout opportunity that was offered to the state by the federal government.
CVS Health was hiring 850 licensed pharmacy technicians in Ohio for the vaccination effort.
“As we get the first shot and then the second shot, that is really going to throw a blanket around our nursing home residents and the people who work there,” DeWine said. “One of the great tragedies is how many people we've lost in Ohio in nursing homes and that that keeps me awake at night, and I'm going to feel a lot better when we have all our nursing homes and people have all had the opportunity to have a shot and the staff has as well.”
Here is a list of the nursing homes receiving the COVID-19 vaccine:
- Altercare of Alliance
- Altercare of Nobles Pond
- Continental Manor
- Ohio's Veterans Home in Georgetown
- Ohio's Veterans Home in Sandusky
- Chardon Healthcare Center
- Pleasantview Care Center
- Crown Pointe Care Center
- Woodview Care and Rehabilitation