Governor Mike Devine gave his regular update on COVID-19 in Ohio on Monday as ten hospitals across the state prepare to deliver the first rounds of the Pfizer vaccine to leading workers in hospitals.
The first doses of Pfizer’s Govt-19 vaccine were released Monday morning in the U.S. Health has arrived, and the U.C. says the hospital has already vaccinated its top 20 leading workers. Said Dr. Richard Lofgren, President and CEO of Health.
“With the top 20 we’ve actually realized, we’re ready to use the full allocation of 975 by Thursday this week,” Lofgren said.
So far, the hospital network has identified 1,900 high-risk staff and leading workers who require daily unavoidable contact and vaccination with contaminated surfaces or COVID-19 patients, according to Lofgren.
Vaccines arrived at the hospital Monday morning, and by the afternoon, the first person to be vaccinated in Cincinnati was Katie Walls, a registered nurse working in the cardiac ICU at UCMC.
“It really went great. I’m so excited to be a part of this new journey, and it will inspire many to be a part of this journey to help make a difference in the world and help keep others safe,” he said. Walls.
Next week, Divine said the Moderna vaccine is scheduled for approval and is ready to pass the second round. This deployment by the Ohio National Guard will help expedite exports. The National Guard will partner with Cardinal Health, a healthcare logistics company based in Dublin, Ohio, which will send the modern vaccine dose to 355 locations already designated within a day of receipt.
Nursing homes can be seen getting vaccinated a few days earlier, with the deployment taking place on Friday instead of the previously scheduled December 21 deployment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called on Ohio to participate in pre-measured immunizations, which will leave five to 10 nursing homes in the state Friday, Divine said.
Despite the news of the vaccine, Divine said Monday that when they focused on COVID-19 numbers, they were unsustainable for health workers across the state.
The Ohio Department of Health reported 7,875 new cases Monday, well below the two-week average, but the weekend report could have totally affected the Divine Warning, which has largely made Monday numbers less accurate. ODH reported 59 new deaths, 291 new hospitals and 38 new ICU admissions across the state in the last 24 hours.
During the COVID-19 update on Thursday, Divin reiterated that the public should follow the “Ohio Residence Housing Code” he issued.
Each district in the state is still considered to have a “higher incidence rate”, meaning those districts have a higher probability of community spread. Five districts in the state are considered “purple,” indicating severe exposure and outbreaks, and health officials recommend leaving home for goods and services in those districts.
“Now 30 out of 88 districts have more than 1,000 case rates. So, very, very high,” Divin said. “As we explained earlier, with more than 1,000 districts – with more than 1,000 to 30 districts, it means that at least one in 100 people in the community has tested positive in the last two weeks. So this is a high rate of spread.”
The top 20 districts with the highest incidence rates are Brown, Butler and Warren districts. From Nov. 29 to Dec. 12, 559 new cases were the fifth worst for the Brown County population.
The full press conference can be found below: