COLUMBUS, Ohio — Some schools in the state have already been notified that they'll be receiving vaccine doses before Feb. 1 — the original deadline to start vaccinating school districts, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday.
DeWine didn't name the schools, but said first doses will be given in Cincinnati on Thursday. Every school should know when their time will come by Friday, but DeWine warned not every district will begin vaccinations by Feb. 1, calling it a "rolling start."
“Our goal is for them to be able to get the shot in the month of February," DeWine said.
Almost all public schools are still slated to reopen March 1, but DeWine said vaccines are still scarce, and that's "not going away in the immediate future."
Although doses are scarce, DeWine revealed more of them will be available this week and next week for older Ohioans.
DeWine explained that at the beginning of the vaccination process, the federal goverment told the state to set aside 353,000 for nursing homes, which have been the source of around 50% of COVID-19-related deaths in the state, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
“As we went on, it’s become clear that not everybody in the nursing home is going to take the vaccine. Not every staff member," DeWine said.
From the stockpile, Ohio will receive 77,000 doses, which will be spread out over the next two weeks.
As of Monday, Ohio began vaccinating Ohioans 75 years and older, along with other groups, including those with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Next week, those 70 and older will be eligible, and then 65 and older can get the vaccine the week after, starting Feb. 8.
DeWine said Ohio is currently second in the nation for number of people in nursing homes who received the first dose. They're currently in the process of receiving the second dose.
Other statistics DeWine provided:
- In state-run developmental centers, 89% of people have taken the first dose
- In state-run psychiatric hospitals, 73% of long-term patients have been vaccinated
- In the Sandusky and Georgetown veteran's homes, 92% of people have been vaccinated
DeWine said he's also been receiving request from businesses, bars, and restaurants on a deadline for when curfew would end.
“We’ve seen cases come down, which is good. That’s a good indicator. We’re heading, at least for a while, in the right direction,” DeWine said.
He warned, however, that the virus is still unpredictable, and with the variant making an appearance in the state, DeWine and health officials worry it could become the dominant strain.
DeWine conferred with health officials and said if hospitalizations stay below 3,500 admissions a day for seven consecutive days, he'll push curfew back to 11 p.m. It's currently set for 10 p.m.
That means if hospitalizations continue to trend downward, the new curfew could start Thursday night.
If the curfew is changed, DeWine said "in two weeks, we'll look at it again."
If successful after two weeks, he then said he'd push curfew back even further to midnight if there were less than 3,000 admissions per day. If hospitalizations dip below 2,500 for seven straight days after that, there will be no curfew.
On Tuesday, the state reported 4,262 cases, 295 hospitalizations, 40 ICU admissions and 88 deaths.