COLUMBUS, Ohio — Fully vaccinated residents who have been exposed to COVID-19 are no longer being advised to quarantine, a move Gov. Mike DeWine hopes will motivate more young people to get vaccinated.
The state modified its health orders Tuesday afternoon and the change took effect immediately, according to the governor's office.
“Ohioans, beginning today, who have been fully vaccinated no longer will have to quarantine if they are exposed to someone who has COVID,” DeWine said at a press briefing Tuesday.
DeWine said people will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second shot of Pfizer or Moderna, or two weeks after a jab of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The governor said 3.6 million residents have completed vaccination.
Earlier in the pandemic, the state instructed residents to quarantine if they were in close proximity to someone with COVID-19 for a period of 15 minutes or more when the person was infectious.
By changing our health order, students 16 and 17 years old who are vaccinated will be able to participate in sports and other activities, even when they have been exposed to someone with COVID.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) April 27, 2021
Nursing homes and assisted-living facilities will continue to be guided by federal quarantine requirements out of the state’s control, DeWine said.
“I hope this change will encourage more students and more of our young people to get the vaccine,” he said.
More than 1 in 5 Ohioans who are 16- and 17-years-old have been vaccinated, and under the new guidance, they will no longer face the risk of being sidelined from athletics or other extracurricular activities when they become fully vaccinated, DeWine said.
“By changing our health order, which we are doing today, these young people who are vaccinated will be able to participate in sports, they will be able to participate in other activities, even though they may, at some point in the future, be exposed to someone who has the COVID,” DeWine said.
The decision was made in consultation with Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Ohio’s chief medical officer, along with input from other health experts, the governor said.
“This vaccine is extremely powerful. It is extremely effective. It gives us a lot more freedom,” DeWine said. “The power of this vaccine allows us to do this.”