COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted provided an update on Ohio’s vaccination plans following this morning’s decision to pause the administration of the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccine.
Gov. DeWine, Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud, and Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., directed all Ohio vaccine providers this morning to temporarily pause using the Johnson and Johnson vaccine following a recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The recommendation was made after six people who received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine experienced an extremely rare blood-clotting condition in the United States. The cases have occurred in women between 18 and 48 and the reactions have taken place within 6-13 days after receiving the vaccine.
Approximately 6.8 million people have received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in the U.S. 264,311 of those vaccinations were administered in Ohio.
The majority of the Ohio’s Johnson and Johnson doses were directed to mass vaccination clinics and to 63 public and private four-year colleges and universities, most of which have already completed their student vaccinations.
Of the mass vaccination clinics and college/university clinics that did plan to offer the Johnson and Johnson vaccine this week, most will proceed with their clinics by offering either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
A total of eight sites will not offer any vaccines this week as the health community works to recognize, report, and manage any adverse events related to the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
There are many other local providers with open appointments for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Visit gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov to look for open appointments.
Variant Spread
Gov. DeWine announced Thursday that more than 36 percent of Ohioans have now received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, however, Ohio’s statewide case incidence number has reached 200 cases per 100,000 people as compared to 144 cases per 100,000 people four weeks ago. There are currently more than 1,300 COVID-positive patients in Ohio’s hospitals.
“What we’re seeing in Ohio is a strong variant that is multiplying very quickly and is more contagious than the virus we’ve seen in the past, but we have hope, and hope is the vaccine,” Gov. DeWine said. “Vaccination is how we get out of this.”
The majority of the counties with the highest incidence of cases in Ohio are in the northern region of the state which is seeing a high level of variant cases. Lucas County is currently seeing the highest occurrence of cases with 341.1 cases per 100,000 county residents.
Franklin County increased to Alert Level 4 (purple) on Ohio Public Health Advisory System due to a sustained increase in COVID-related emergency room visits, outpatient visits, and hospital admissions.
Vaccination Status
Currently, anyone age 18 or older is eligible to receive any vaccine in Ohio. Anyone age 16 or older may receive the Pfizer vaccine with parent or legal guardian consent. In Preble County, there are four current vaccination sites:
The Gym at Eagles Point, 307 N. Cherry St., Eaton. 937-472-0087 or visit http://vaccinatepreble.com.
Walgreens, 1213 N. Barron St., Eaton. 937-456-2694 or http://www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19.
CVS Pharmacy 6145, 1300 N. Barron St., Eaton. 888-300-4419 or http://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine.
Camden Village Pharmacy, 75 W. Central Ave., Camden. 937-453-1263 or http://www.camdenvillagepharmacy.com/covid-vaccine.
Current Case Data
As of Thursday, April 15, there are 1,048,109 (+14,503) confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 18,917 (+176) confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 54,636 (+795) people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 7,604 (+98) admissions to intensive care units. Ohio currently has 200 (+16.3) cases per 100,000 residents. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
