COVID-19 shots at vaccination clinic get snatched up quickly
Columbus’ first “pop-up” COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic was quickly swamped, with about all appointments for the 12,500 doses rapidly being claimed online.
As of Monday afternoon, neither Kroger, which is operating the clinic, nor the state website – gettheshot. coronavirus.ohio.gov – listed openings for the clinic.
The first Pfizer-biontech shots for those who secured appointments will be Thursday through Sunday at St. John Arena on the Ohio State University campus, followed by second doses from April 8-11. Cincinnati’s mass vaccination site also was quickly booked.
Individuals looking for an appointment can check the Kroger and state websites later to see if cancellations occur, a state official said. At the end of the month, Ohio will launch several permanent mass clinics.
The vaccines are considered effective against COVID-19 variants as well. Ohio now has reported 91 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the United Kingdom, and one case of P.1, which was first found in Brazil, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, state health officials reported 1,149 new coronavirus infections on Monday, bringing the pandemic total after slightly more than a year to 990,340.
Ohio COVID-19 cases dropped 8.9% last week to an average of 1,509 a day as compared with 1,656 daily cases the prior week as cases have plummeted from the December peak that several times exceeded 10,000 cases a day.
With the change in which the state only reports deaths on Tuesdays and Fridays, the virus death toll among Ohioans remained at 17,871.
An additional 91 COVID-19 patients vaccination were admitted to hospitals, leaving 914 hospitalized on Monday, a 76% decline from two months ago.
Another 25,950 vaccinations were reported, bringing the total of vaccines started to nearly 2.4 million, or 20.5% of Ohio’s population. A total of nearly 1.4 million, or 12% of the population, had received second and final doses.
Of the approximately 4.4 million Ohioans age 50 and older, and thus eligible for vaccinations, nearly 1.9 million, or 42%, had received at least one shot as of Sunday.
State officials say Ohio is “on track” to meet President Joe Biden’s benchmark to make all adults eligible for vaccination no later than May 1.
Ohio ranks 34th among the states in getting at least one shot into the arms of its residents.
Reporter Jessie Balmert contributed reporting to this story. rludlow@dispatch.com @Randyludlow