COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine said Monday seniors need to get the vaccine as soon as possible calling vaccine distribution a "race against time" while expressing support for a new plan that would give seniors older than 75 greater vaccine priority than some essential workers. 

"There's a lot of balance, and the overall goal of saving lives is a paramount goal," DeWine said. "Age is a good indicator of your susceptibility -- above the age of 70, the numbers go up rather dramatically."

The governor said after the immunization of the frontline, the second phase of vaccine administration will include a large population requiring the state to rank priorities for essential workers and medically vulnerable residents.

"The other thing that we have that we have to balance is we can't make the system so complicated that we don't get the vaccines out," DeWine said.

The governor's briefing Monday came as Ohio reported better trends in COVID-19 numbers. In the last week, case averages have come down by 17%, dropping from just above 10,000 to now about 8,400. But the numbers remain significantly elevated as compared to the period from March to October when daily cases were below 1,500.

Officials said Monday quick vaccine distribution is among the state's top priorities, describing an improved long-term outlook in the pandemic as the state’s hospitals and health departments began receiving Moderna shipments Monday.

The Wood County Health Department said it expects 600 doses of the Moderna vaccine early this week. Alex Aspacher, the department’s spokesperson, said public health officials are working with “an allocation group” that represents first responders, elected officials, health care, and long-term care facilities to determine vaccine distribution while supplies are limited.

Health departments have a role in immunizing residents and staff of psychiatric hospitals, people with developmental disabilities, substance use group homes, and emergency medical personnel. Wood said fire departments are a priority and they are in discussions with local departments to determine if the shots should be given at the health department or by the fire departments.

Columbus Public Health expects an arrival of the vaccine this week but an exact date had not been shared. OhioHealth Riverside received a vaccine shipment around 9:15 Monday morning. 

Ohio’s hospitals are immunizing members of their staff who are top priority on the frontlines. The process began last week when Ohio hospitals received Pfizer’s vaccine.

After brief celebrations of vaccine arrivals, hospitals are remaining focused on the current surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations. The latest update to the state’s hospital dashboard showed slight dips in the last week but officials said the numbers remain at an unsustainable level. On Monday, 4,758 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized while 1,126 were in the ICU and 792 were on ventilators.

As of Monday, Ohio has administered 6,733 vaccine shots, according to a new dashboard.

During the governor’s briefing, two long-term care facilities broadcasted immunizations of their residents. At Bethany Village in Centerville, CVS arrived around 10 a.m. Monday and vaccinations began around 11 a.m.

CVS Health said Monday it will vaccinate “more than 1,400 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities across Ohio, with the potential for nearly 200,000 Ohio patients to be vaccinated.” Ohio is using its allocation of the Pfizer vaccine to immunize nursing home residents via four pharmacy companies administering shots at the facilities. 

Good news came last week as hospitals administering Pfizer’s vaccine realized they could draw six doses from some of the vials, which are meant to inoculate five people. That development changes the state’s vaccine math. For example, Ohio State Wexner Medical center said it administered 1,032 shots out of its first 975-dose shipment.

However, this weekend Ohio lowered its projection for vaccine arrivals in December from 660,000 to 530,000. The delays, which many other states reported experiencing, were not the Ohio's fault, DeWine said. 

Ohio National Guard Maj. General John Harris joined the governor's briefing and discussed a federal waiver that allows the Guard to participate in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks.

DeWine said he envisions the guard getting involved in the vaccine effort in a similar way to its role in mass testing. DeWine said the guard could help vaccinate underserved areas.

“We have not made any decision yet in regard to the deployment of the guard as far as the vaccinations,” DeWine. "But you and I have talked about it, and I know that there will certainly be opportunities and places where we'll want the guard to come in and get the job done.”

Harris said the guard expects a vaccine shipment to arrive in the next 12-24 hours for guard members.

After a small, but attention-raising number of events of anaphylaxis from recipients of the Pfizer vaccine, officials are urging extra awareness to allergy histories. Vaccine recipients will be monitored for 15 minutes afterwards, or for up to 30 minutes if they have a history of allergic reaction to vaccines. Non-hospital distribution locations are asked to have epinephrine ready in the case of emergency.