Medical conditions included in Friday’s expansion are cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and obesity.
That will make an estimated 1.5 million Ohioans eligible for vaccination starting Friday, DeWine said.
“It’s a moral imperative that we move as quickly as we can to vaccinate all Ohioans who wish to be vaccinated,” DeWine said.
With the state expected to see an increase in vaccine shipments, DeWine said he felt comfortable expanding vaccine eligibility.
The state received 400,000 vaccines this week and is expected to receive another 400,000 next week. Clark County received 3,500 doses of the vaccine this week and last.
Clark County Combined Health District Commissioner Charles Patterson said last week during DeWine’s visit to the county’s vaccination clinic that they could do as many as 10,000 vaccinations in a single week if they were given more doses.
“It all goes back to the amount of vaccine we get and the support of the governor,” Patterson said.
The federal government indicated that in the week of March 29 Ohio will see a “significant increase” in vaccine shipments, DeWine said. Because of that, multiple health departments told the governor they were ready to expand vaccine eligibility earlier this week.
“The consensus from talking to the health departments was that we need to open up vaccinations even further,” DeWine said.
Currently, no COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for children in the United State. The Pfizer vaccine was approved for those 16 and older and the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine was authorized for ages 18 and older.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, Clark County still had vaccination appointments available for this week. Residents eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine can schedule an appointment by calling the health district at 937-717-2439 or going online at ccchd.com.
As of Monday, one in five Ohioans — or 2,390,412 people — have received at least one dose and 1,396,736 have finished the vaccine, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
In Clark County, as of Tuesday, 30,557 residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. That’s about 22.79% of the county’s population, according to ODH. Nearly 14.5% of the county’s population has been fully vaccinated.
Clark County had 12,587 cases and 272 deaths of the coronavirus as of Tuesday, according to ODH.
Ohio reported 1,883 daily cases on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 992,223. The state also recorded 18,114 total COVID-19 deaths, according to ODH.
Facts & Figures:
40: Age requirement to now to eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Clark County
22.79: Percentage of Clark County residents that have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose
14.5: Percentage of Clark County residents that are fully vaccinated
Source: Ohio Department of Health
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