Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday Ohio will be offering the coronavirus vaccine to all adults ahead of the deadline set by President Joe Biden.
Biden said in a nationwide address Thursday night that he wanted states to make it available to people 18 and over by May 1.
“To be clear,” Biden said, “that doesn’t mean everyone will get it by then. It means everyone can get in line. Every adult will be eligible to get their shot.”
DeWine, at a vaccination clinic in Cincinnati said Ohio is well on its way to offering the vaccine to larger and larger groups.
Data released Friday by the Ohio Department of Health showed so far 2.24 million Ohioans have received their first shot of the vaccine. That represents just over 19 percent of the people in Ohio.
The state currently limits the vaccine to people age 50 and above, but the age range could change in the next week or two.
DeWine said older Ohioans are vaccinated in much higher percentages than most other groups.
“We have better than two thirds of people age 80 and older that have been vaccinated. That’s 70 percent. I’ll be happier when it gets to 75. We watch these numbers continue to go up,” DeWine said.
It comes just as the state is about to embark on its largest vaccination effort yet. Mass clinics are set for Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati to deliver more than 10,000 shots a day at each venue.
The Governor continues to travel the state to give vaccination sites a first-hand look. He plans to travel to Greenville on Monday. At each stop, DeWine said, he hears much the same thing from vaccine recipients.
“Really a sense of relief. It’s one word that people tell us. It’s relief. They’re looking forward to getting back to normal and the way to get back to normal is from the vaccine,” DeWine said.
Cox Media Group
