Teachers and school staff will be in next Ohio COVID-19 vaccine group, DeWine says – The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS Citing the elevated risk of death to older Ohioans and the need to get children back in classrooms, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that those age 65 and over and school teachers and staffwill be next in line for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Vaccines for more than 138,000 adult employees will be offered to school districts willing to resume in-person classes, with a goal of getting pupilsback in classes by March 1, DeWine said. Parents can continue to opt for remote learning for their children, he said.

DeWine said it is important to get children back in classrooms because many struggle with remote or online learning. About 71% of Ohio pupils are attending classes remotely or in a hybrid model of a combination of in-person and online learning, he said.

"I believe it's time to get all our children who want to be in class, back in class," DeWine said. "That is our goal. These kids are our future. These kids have really been hurt in some cases by not being in school."

Depending on which of the two vaccines is involved, it is not recommended children under ages 18 or 16 receive shots. No school children will be targeted for vaccination, the governor said.

Also in the next group:

DeWine couldn't say when the next phase will begin but officials are targeting mid-January to begin scheduling shots.

"Everyone in Ohio who wants to get this vaccine will at some point be able to get it, DeWine said. "They just cant all get it today."

Health care workers andEMS responders along with nursing home and long-term care residents and employees were the first to get shots in Ohio. The governor said the others who will be included in the next group to be vaccinatedhas not yet been determined.

DeWine's list for who receives vaccines in the next phase differs from a federal recommendation calling for those age 75 and older to be next in line not 65 and over. The federal panel agreed on school staff vaccinations and a large group of essential workers who cannot work remotely.

DeWine wants older Ohioans to get the vaccine because roughly a third of those who have died in the state from COVID-19 were age 65 or older.

Initially, Ohio expected to receive 123,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week. That was dialed back to 70,200 doses due to the feds holding back enough doses for the necessary second shot.

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The Ohio Department of Health announced Tuesday night that an allotmentof 89,700 doses will arrive Thursday.

The number of first-shot COVID vaccinations reported by the state on Wednesday totaled 11,700, an increase of 1,363 from Tuesday. That's still behind more than a dozen other states.

DeWine told The Enquirer on Tuesday that's in part because reporting is lagging by a couple days and also becauseOhio decided to start vaccinations at nursing homes with its first batch of Pfizer vaccines the first week.Federal officials required a certain number of doses be reserved in order to begin.

Ohio reported 7,790 new COVID-19 cases and 109 deaths on Wednesday since Tuesdays report. Cases and deaths can be reported days or weeks after someone gets sick or dies.

Continuing a trajectory that saw COVID-19 infections declinelast week, reported daily cases so far this week have averaged 7,598as compared to 8,710 last week. Case levels, though, still remain three timeshigher than two months ago.

An estimated 4,694 COVID-19 patients were receiving treatment in Ohio hospitals on Wednesday, according to the Ohio Hospital Association. That includes 1,131 people in intensive care.

The positive rate on virus tests increased to 15.3% on the latest reported day (Monday), boosting the seven-day average positivity rate to 14.0%.

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Teachers and school staff will be in next Ohio COVID-19 vaccine group, DeWine says - The Cincinnati Enquirer