OHIO — MetroHealth and OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday.
And for many doctors, it was an emotional moment.
Some health care workers at OhioHealth expressed that doctors and nurses have risked their lives and now, there's some safety on their side.
MetroHealth expects to receive another shipment next week.
In total, Ohio is set to receive nearly 300,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the first shipment, which began Monday. The next shipment expected later this weekend could contain upwards of 359,000 doses.
MetroHealth is the first medical facility in Northeast Ohio to receive the vaccine. The Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth will get 975 doses. MetroHealth says it will start administering the vaccines Wednesday.
“So, we estimated over 1,500 frontline workers, and we know that some of those people may decline because people decline new vaccines regularly. And so, we do anticipate getting all of those people offered the vaccine quickly and then to vaccinate the entire health care system would take as many vaccines as we have employees, which is a lot," said Dr. Ann Avery, the division director of Infection Disease at MetroHealth.
It's not yet known how many doses University Hospitals will received or when they'll be delivered.
Many hospitals received theirs Monday, including Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and UC Health, which also received 975 doses.
The Wexner Center administered the first vaccines in the state Monday.
Outside of hospital systems, Cleveland's VA center and nursing homes are preparing for their first doses. The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center is among 37 VA sites nationwide receiving doses Tuesday with plans to administer them Wednesday.
Gov. Mike DeWine said five to 10 nursing homes will start their distribution Friday for a trial run, which is three days earlier than other states.
Reporter Micaela Marshall contributed to this report.
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