Ohioans don’t know when they’ll be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines
COLUMBUS – Most Ohioans waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine have no idea where they stand in line or how long it will take to get a shot.
That’s because Ohio has released few details about who receives vaccines after phase 1B, which includes those age 65 and older, K-12 school staff and some at-risk Ohioans.
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Residents in other states don’t face that same uncertainty. Cancer patients in Kentucky know where they fit in the slow-moving line toward vaccination – before otherwise healthy residents ages 40 and older but after teachers and childcare workers, according to the state’s plan. Meanwhile, grocery store workers in Tennessee know at which phase they can expect a vaccine.
On Monday, after a version of this story was published online, Gov. Mike DeWine announced that the next group of Ohioans who would receive the vaccine would be those age 60 and up. The state would then move to those 55 and older and later people 50 and older.
“This is the best way to go to save the most lives,” DeWine said, adding he didn’t know when the state would move on from those 65 and older. Ohio might also include a small group of those who are at-risk of the disease, but DeWine didn’t detail whom that would include.
That’s not the same as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended order for prioritizing COVID-19 vaccines. That list includes health care providers; frontline workers such as police officers, grocery store employees and public transit workers; and those with underlying conditions that put them at greater risk of COVID-19 complications. However, states don’t have to follow it.
In fact, Ohio has already used its own criteria to pick which health conditions should go first, prioritizing diseases that start at birth or in childhood over cancer or chronic kidney disease – two conditions that the CDC puts at the top of its list. Ohio is out of step with how other states are vaccinating at-risk residents, a Kaiser Family Foundation report showed.
There’s a simple reason why Ohio’s leaders haven’t detailed who is next in line for COVID-19 vaccines: They don’t know.
“We’re still looking at it,” DeWine said Feb. 16. “(We’re) still trying to, frankly, look at the question of: ‘Who is most vulnerable and how do we save the most lives?'”
Does Ohio have a plan?
In October, Ohio submitted a plan to the CDC, outlining in broad strokes how the state would distribute COVID-19 vaccines. That plan included several phases and placed those at severe risk of COVID-19 complications ahead of frontline workers, for example.
But Ohio has already diverged from that plan by inoculating teachers and school staff earlier. DeWine wants students to return to in-person classes by March 1 so he offered the vaccine as both a carrot and a stick.
Without a plan, more than 900 groups and individuals are pleading with DeWine for a spot in line to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Many are making compelling, even heart-wrenching, arguments.
Take police officers, who weren’t inoculated along with other first responders but can’t socially distance in their jobs. Hamilton County deputy Donald Gilreath III recently died of COVID-19 complications. In Columbus alone, one in three police officers has contracted COVID-19.
“It’s frustrating,” said Mike Weinman, director of government affairs for the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, about finding out when police will get vaccines. “We’re not getting anything. It’s just dead silence.”
Preschool teachers and childcare workers aren’t eligible for the vaccine even though their colleagues teaching kindergarten and first-grade teachers have been vaccinated. They wonder, how is that fair?
Meanwhile, funeral directors and their employees are risking exposure to COVID-19 as their workload becomes unbearable.
“People want to know if they are next in line so they can plan,” said Rep. Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington. “It’s extremely important that the governor makes a decision about this and announces it to the public.”
Once Ohio has a plan of who’s next, leaders need to communicate it clearly because residents are already confused about who is next in line, she added.
DeWine has hinted that Ohio’s next group of vaccine recipients will include more older adults, perhaps a drop to those age 60 and older or residents age 55 and older. That’s consistent with the state’s current practice of prioritizing older Ohioans, who comprise most of the state’s COVID-19-related deaths.
Not enough shots
Adding to that frustration is the simple fact that Ohio doesn’t have enough COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate those already on its list: those 65 and older.
The state has received between 187,000 and 230,000 doses a week to vaccinate 2.2 million Ohioans in the state’s phase 1B group. That number should increase as production ramps up and more vaccines, such as Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine, are approved.
DeWine said Tuesday that Ohio wouldn’t add anyone to the list for “the next few weeks” as Ohio’s oldest residents still struggle to access the vaccine. Some have waited hours to schedule an appointment to obtain a vaccine. Others faced problems when pharmacies’ websites incorrectly blocked them from making appointments.
“We’re going to continue to give you the opportunity to be vaccinated because you are the most vulnerable people in the state of Ohio,” DeWine said.
To date, 11.3% of Ohioans have received their first shot in the two-dose regimen and 4.2% of residents have received both shots, according to Ohio Department of Health data.
As Ohio vaccinates these residents, his team is urging patience for everyone else.
“This is a batting order, but the entire team is going to get to bat,” said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, the state’s chief medical officer. “I don’t want anyone to think that they won’t get this vaccine in the weeks and months to come because they’re not on the list right now.”
