Ages eligible for vaccine will fall to 50
State’s centralized online tool to register for shots is operational.
About 1.4 million more Ohioans — primarily people ages 50 and older — will be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine starting Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced.
The newly eligible group announced Monday also includes Ohioans with type 2 diabetes and end-stage renal disease.
DeWine said vaccine providers across the state still had vaccine appointments available Monday morning and were asking him to expand eligibility to fill clinics.
People ages 50 and above account for at least 97% of COVID19 deaths, according to DeWine.
Also Monday, the Ohio Department of Health unveiled a central coronavirus scheduling tool to make the sign-up process easier for Ohioans.
Residents can visit https://gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov/
Gov. Mike DeWine has lowered the age for eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine. »
Police update on response to mask, gathering ordinances, to schedule an appointment. It’s accessible on computers, smartphones and tablets.
“Ohioans can use the tool to determine if they are eligible to receive the vaccine, schedule appointments and receive updates and reminders,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “As of this morning, there were thousands of appointments available through the tool.”
As of Monday, just under 2 million people have started the coronavirus vaccine in Ohio and 1,134,801 have completed
it, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
ODH Chief Medical Officer Bruce Vanderhoff explained a new CDC guideline that says vaccinated people can gather with each other without a mask, noting that it’s still important for vaccinated residents to wear a mask while in public.
He said people who are vaccinated also are advised to wear a mask when with others who have not been vaccinated.
Critics have said the state should have created the central vaccination registration system sooner. Some counties created or purchased their own online systems because the state had lacked a central tool.
Many residents had signed up on multiple systems, too, because Ohio had no single sign-up system.
Residents will be able to register for the state’s mass vaccination sites using the new tool.
Vaccine providers are required to schedule vaccines through the system or another scheduling system that interfaces with the portal.
“We believe this will streamline the scheduling process, reduce data lags and provide real-time information on vaccination progress,” the governor said.
The state’s case numbers continue to decrease.
In the last 10 days, the state recorded fewer than 2,000 daily cases nine times.
Throughout the pandemic, the state has recorded 979,725 total cases.
The state reported 84 hospitalizations and 16 ICU admissions on Monday, bringing its total to 50,695 and 7,223 respectively.
Mo n day marked t he fourth straight day Ohio had fewer than 1,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized. The state reported 830 hospitalizations across the state, the second lowest number reported in 2021.
Last week, DeWine announced that all public health orders will be lifted if the state can get below 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks in Ohio.
On Monday, two counties had fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 people in Ohio: Holmes and Vinton. Fifteen counties are reporting fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 people, meaning they no longer meet the CDC’s guidelines for a high transmission rate. Five of those counties, Darke, Preble, Mercer, Shelby and Auglaize, are in the Miami Valley region.
Also Monday, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced the redesign of OhioMeansJobs.com, making the website easier to navigate and search or apply for positions.
“The OhioMeansJobs redesite has special sections for sign takes an outdated site people who are veterans or and transforms it into a who are receiving unemploystreamlined, simple-to-use ment benefits. resource for Ohioans lookIt also includes a resume ing for new career opportunibuilder and rater, online ties,” he said. “The revamped tutorials, and free access site also makes the tough for companies to post job task of searching for a new openings. employee much easier, connecting businesses to candidates with the right skill-set and experience.”
Husted noted that the web
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., walks with his staff just after the Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday.