Submitted by Clermont County Public Health
When will Clermont County get the COVID-19 vaccine?
With a COVID-19 vaccine here, many people want to know when they can get vaccinated. There are still some questions to be answered, but here’s what we know.
Ohio will receive its first shipment of about 98,000 doses on Dec. 15. Of those doses, about 10,000 will go to 10 different hospitals statewide for healthcare workers who treat COVID-19 patients. The remaining doses will be used for congregate living facilities (long-term care, nursing homes and assisted living facilities).
On Dec. 22, Ohio will receive a total of about 324,000 doses. Those will be distributed to 98 hospitals, 108 local health departments (including Clermont County Public Health) and major retail pharmacies. The pharmacies will vaccinate staff and residents of congregate care facilities. Hospitals will vaccinate their workers who are exposed to COVID patients. The 108 local health departments will distribute their portion of the vaccine to local front-line health care workers and fire/EMS personnel.
An additional 237,000 doses are expected to arrive in Ohio during the final week of December.
Who gets the top priority?
During the initial phase the top priority will go to those people that fall under one of these categories:
Who determines the priority groups for receiving vaccine?
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control on which populations group should receive the vaccine. The ACIP will determine which population group will be the next priority after everyone in the priority 1A group receives the vaccine.
When can I get the vaccine?
As more vaccine is produced more groups of people will be prioritized. However, it may be the middle of 2021 before the vaccine will be widely available to the community.
