Timeline For Coronavirus Vaccines Coming To Ohio In December

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohio will receive its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines in mid-December, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday.

While final tallies of what each state will receive are fluid, DeWine expects Pfizer will send 9,750 vaccines to Ohio hospitals and 88,725 to Walgreens and CVS pharmacies, for distribution to congregate care, on approximately Dec. 15.

On Dec. 22, 201,000 COVID-19 vaccines will be shipped from Moderna to Ohio hospitals and health departments. On that same day, Pfizer is tentatively send 123,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Ohio.

"These will go to 98 hospitals and 108 health departments. Hospitals will vaccinate those dealing with COVID patients. Health departments will vaccinate people like EMS," DeWine said.

A few days later, Pfizer will send 140,000 COVID-19 vaccines and Moderna will send 89,000. The second and third shipments from Pfizer have not yet been confirmed.

The state will begin phase one of vaccine distribution on approximately Dec. 15. DeWine said the goal is to protect the most-vulnerable people as quickly as possible. The second goal is to slow the spread of the virus and create a safer environment for health care workers.

The governor said the following groups will be prioritized in the initial phase of vaccine distribution:

• Health care workers and personnel involved in the care of COVID-19 patients
• EMS responders
• Vulnerable individuals who live together in close proximity and people who care for them

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Here's how the vaccine will be distributed throughout the state.

• First, the Pfizer vaccine will be shipped directly to Ohio's 10 prepositioned hospital sites.
  • Mercy Health — St. Vincent Medical Center
  • Cleveland Clinic
  • MetroHealth
  • Mercy Health — Springfield Regional Medical Center
  • The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
  • OhioHealth — Riverside Methodist Hospital
  • Aultman Hospital
  • UC Health
  • OhioHealth — O'Bleness Hospital
  • Genesis Hospital
• When supply increases, more health care providers will receive direct shipments of the vaccine.
• Smaller health care providers (those requiring fewer than 975 vaccine doses) will not receive direct shipments. Instead, Pfizer will ship the vaccines to an Ohio Department of Health (ODH) warehouse, where the vaccines will be stored and then redistributed.
• When vaccines are shipped from the ODH warehouses, they must be removed and repackaged with dry ice in less than 2 minutes. ODH staff and the Ohio National Guard are running regular drills to ensure they can safely repackage the coming Pfizer vaccines. Clocks have been hung on walls counting down the amount of time teams have to transport the vaccines.
• All vaccines will be tracked electronically as they're shipped through Ohio.

The Moderna vaccine, which does not require special storage techniques, will not be shipped to warehouses, but will instead be sent directly to all health care providers.

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