Coronavirus Vaccination To Begin In Ohio Nursing Homes

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohioans in nursing homes will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines on Friday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced.

Both patients and workers at nursing homes will be receiving COVID-19 vaccines through pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens. Ohio is one of the few states enrolled in a federal program allowing early vaccination of nursing home patients and staff.

The Pfizer vaccine will be sent to nursing homes in coming weeks, while the Moderna vaccine will be used for health care workers, DeWine said.

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Thursday's COVID-19 Numbers

Ohio's COVID-19 numbers spiked after a slight decline on Wednesday. Health officials confirmed 11,412 new cases among Ohioans in the past 24 hours. There were also 117 COVID-19 deaths, 370 hospitalizations and 38 intensive care admissions.

One of the deaths confirmed in Ohio was of a state corrections officer. DeWine said the officer died a week after testing positive for COVID-19.

Here are all of Thursday's numbers:

• New cases: 11,412
• New deaths: 117
• New hospitalizations: 370
• New ICU admissions: 38

Only one Ohio county, Richland, is still "purple" for its COVID-19 spread, DeWine announced.

"We’re seeing counties move to Watch List and then purple when we’re seeing worsening trends in cases and healthcare indicators, and then a return to red when these all plateau at a very critical level," the governor said.

Every county in Ohio is considered "high-incidence" for COVID-19, according to CDC data.

The Ohio Department of Health estimates that 426,525 Ohioans have contracted COVID-19 and recovered from the virus.

Ohio’s #healthcare providers are heroes working tirelessly to save lives. They need your help. Take steps to #SlowTheSpread and reduce the stress on our #healthcare system & staff:

Wear a mask
Avoid gatherings
Wash your hands
Practice social distancing pic.twitter.com/gDaCo0wG4G
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) December" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/GovMikeDeW... 17, 2020

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• Who Will Get Ohio's COVID-19 Vaccines First?
• Coronavirus Vaccine Scams Target Ohioans
• 'It's Bad': Hospital Over Capacity, And Nurses Have Coronavirus