Healthcare workers across Ohio were among the first to receive Covid-19 vaccines on Monday.
Over 100,000 doses of the vaccine created by Pfizer BioNTechare are expected to be dispersed across the state after receiving emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The day we have been waiting for,” said Gov. DeWine as staff at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center received their shots Monday.
“After months of hard work, and tremendous effort from scientists, researchers, and manufacturing companies, and now transportation and logistic professionals,” said DeWine, “the first vaccines to inoculate our fellow Ohioans have arrived, first at the OSU Wexner medical center, and at about the same time, the University of Cincinnati.”
“Fran (DeWine) and I were thrilled to watch health care workers begin to get vaccinated,” he said. “It was truly a moment of hope,” adding, “while the pandemic is not over, today is truly a happy day.”
975 doses of the vaccine were given to staff at the Springfield Regional Medical Center and the vaccine will be dispersed throughout the center until Thursday, said Clark County’s Health Center.
The Springfield Regional Medical Center was one of 10 locations to receive shipments of the Pfizer vaccine, picked based on population, geography, and access to ultra-cold storage capacity, said the Ohio Department of Health.
Seven other hospitals across Ohio were included in the first round of vaccines, which were predominantly given to health care workers.
- Mercy Health, St Vincent Medical Center, Lucas County
- Cleveland Clinic, Cuyahoga County
- MetroHealth Medical Center, Cuyahoga County
- Ohio Health Riverside Hospital, Franklin County
- Aultman Hospital, Stark County
- Ohio Health O’Bleness Hospital, Athens
- Genesis Hospital, Muskingum County
Should Moderna’s vaccine be approved by the FDA, “We will see vaccines going to many, many hospitals in the state of Ohio,” said DeWine.
Cardinal Health OptiFreight Logistics Business, a shipping and freight management service, will be working with the Ohio National Guard and the Ohio Department of Health to provide same-day delivery across the state’s countless medical facilities over the course of the upcoming weeks and months.
Additionally, the CDC has fast-tracked a launch to start distributing the vaccine in nursing homes, DeWine said, which is to begin Dec. 21.
Richard Foltz
Associate Editor