OHIO COVID-19 Update: Vaccine Distribution, Nursing Home Cases Drop, School Model Update

COLUMBUS, Feb. 11, 2021: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and his administration has provided the following updates on Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

VACCINE DISTRIBUTION UPDATE: Ohio has received a total of 214,525 first doses of vaccine. Additionally, 223,025 first doses are scheduled to arrive in Ohio during the week of February 15.

The federal retail pharmacy program will soon begin allotting doses to Ohio's more than 160 Rite Aid pharmacies. Vaccine distribution will also expand into all 194 Kroger pharmacies.

Those with specific medical conditions that put them at a very high risk of dying from COVID-19 will be eligible for vaccinations the week of February 15th.

Ohioans born with the medical conditions outlined below, or those who were diagnosed in early childhood whose conditions continued into adulthood, will qualify to be vaccinated beginning on February 15.

Dr. Bruce Vander-hoff, chief medical officer at Ohio Department of Health, explained these conditions in more detail. His remarks are available on the Ohio Channel's YouTube page.

Approximately 12,000 individuals with these severe medical conditions and developmental disabilities have already been vaccinated, and vaccinations of those in this group will continue.

NURSING HOME CASES: The number of COVID-19 cases in Ohio's nursing homes has dropped more than 77 percent since late November. This dramatic drop in cases follows Ohio's aggressive efforts to vaccinate residents and staff in Ohio's long-term care facilities.

As outlined in the chart below, there were 2,697 COVID-19 cases in longterm care facilities in Ohio during the week of November 29, 2020. During the week of January 17, 2021 there were 612 positive cases.

SCHOOL MODEL UPDATE: DeWine shared the latest information on the number of school districts that are physically in school versus those that are fully or partially remote. As a condition to receive priority access to the vaccine, schools were required to commit to full or partial in-person learning by March 1, 2021. All but one school district in Ohio have committed to this plan.

OHIO PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY SYSTEM: There was no change in this week's Ohio Public Health Advisory System map. A county-by-county breakdown outlining the presence of COVID-19 in all of Ohio's 88 counties can be found on the Ohio Public Healt h Advisory System's website.

CURRENT CASE DATA: In total, there are 931,437 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 12,577 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 48,269 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 6,908 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.

For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1 -833-4-ASK-ODH.