Ohio restrictions could be lifted soon
Dewine: On track to open ‘7 to 8 weeks’
Ohio is on track to open access to COVID-19 vaccines to all adults by President Joe Biden’s May 1 milestone and could lift restrictions in the next “seven to eight weeks,” Gov. Mike Dewine said Friday.
Biden said Thursday he wants states to make all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1. Biden noted that does not mean all Americans will immediately receive a vaccine after that date, but that “you’ll be able to get in line beginning May 1.”
“Within a month, it’s going to be pretty open,” Dewine said Friday before touring a Hamilton County vaccination site.
Dewine didn’t say when he would open the next vaccination phase. But he said that decision would be based on the amount of Ohioans in eligible groups who have received a shot and whether there are appointments open.
Ohio has made nearly 5 million people eligible to get a shot since January, first opening up eligibility to seniors and school employees. Ohio has primarily expanded eligibility by age but also to certain medical conditions and professions.
Alaska became the first state to open up eligibility to everyone age 16 and older this week. Utah announced Thursday night it would do the same April 1. Michigan followed suit on Friday with an April 5 eligibility date.
Ohio doesn’t yet have a date to broaden eligibility, a Dewine spokesman said, and the governor doesn’t plan to have a news briefing until Thursday.
As of Thursday this week, people age 50 to 64, Type 2 diabetics and those with end-stage renal disease became eligible for vaccinations in Ohio.
Dewine said appointments for the latest groups, phase 2B and 1D, have filled up quickly.
“What we want to do is be in that sweet spot where we’re not wasting doses,” Dewine said.
“Where we’re getting doses out as