Compromised Vaccines Administered At 5 Ohio Nursing Homes

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohio will have to re-administer COVID-19 vaccine shots to five nursing home facilities after several doses were compromised, Gov. Mike DeWine announced.

"We learned this morning some vaccines given by Walgreens in five long-term care facilities yesterday had not been stored under the proper cold storage conditions. These individuals will be re-vaccinated," DeWine said Tuesday.

Walgreens determined some of its vaccine doses may not have been properly thawed or stored, compromising their effectiveness. Company officials contacted the Ohio Department of Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after discovering the vaccines were compromised.

The compromised vaccines were given to residents and staff at five nursing homes, but those shots will not have any ill effects, according to Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer of the state department of health. Anyone who received a compromised vaccine will still have to receive two untainted shots.

Re-vaccination will take place at the following facilities:

• Ashtabula County Residential Services Corp.'s The Maples in Kingsville.
• Ashtabula Towers in Ashtabula.
• Heather Hill Care Communities in Chardon.
• Six Chimneys in East Cleveland.
• Willow Park Convalescent Home in Cleveland.

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Vaccinating the governor

DeWine and his wife, Fran DeWine, received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.

The duo did not skip the line and elected to wait until Ohio released the vaccine to people 70 and older; they both fall into that category. Vaccination of that age group began Monday.

The vaccine is also now available to some school teachers and staff and Ohioans with certain chronic illnesses. Nearly 900,000 Ohioans have received at least the first part of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Ohio Department of Health said Tuesday.

Tuesday's COVID-19 numbers

For the third straight day, Ohio officials confirmed fewer than 4,000 new COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations and intensive care admissions were level with their rolling average. There were 106 deaths related to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, up versus Ohio's average of 73 deaths per day.

Here are all of Tuesday's COVID-19 numbers:

• New cases: 3,657.
• New deaths: 106.
• New hospitalizations: 221.
• New ICU admissions: 21.

The Ohio Department of Health estimated that 786,249 Ohioans have contracted COVID-19 and recovered.

More than 7.5 percent of Ohioans have received at least the first part of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the state health department. As of Monday afternoon, 882,796 Ohioans had received at least the first shot.