City Of Twinsburg: An Update From Mayor Yates Regarding COVID Vaccinations

Press release from the City of Twinsburg:

January 20, 2021

An Update from Mayor Yates regarding COVID vaccinations.As we move in 2021, my focus for our community is to get our residents vaccinated so we can return to enjoying all the events and activities we love about our community.This morning, I attended a phone conference with Governor DeWine regarding where Ohio stands on the vaccine rollout. The underlining problem is the limited supply of the vaccine. The State is notified of the number of doses of the vaccine it will receive the week before it is distributed to the counties. The average right now is approximately 100,000 doses per week. The State is allocating the vaccines to each county in proportion to the number of residents eligible to receive the vaccine per the phased guidelines.The goals of the Governor as it relates to vaccines is as follows:Save Lives by targeting the vaccines to those who are most vulnerable.Get kids back to school by March 1st.Protecting first line COVID workers.The State has worked through all the Nursing Homes in the state and vaccinated (1st dose) all the residents and workers at those facilities. The State is now working on completing the 2nd dose to Nursing Homes and has started to vaccinate residents and workers in Assisted Living facilities. The state has opened up the vaccinations to the 80 year old population this week, however there are 425,000 Ohio residents that are 80+ years old. It is anticipated that it will take approximated 4 weeks to vaccinate this age group due to the limited supply of vaccines.The State has secured over 700 locations to administer the vaccine throughout the State. In Twinsburg, Giant Eagle and Drug Mart are available options for our seniors to get vaccinated as their age group becomes eligible to schedule an appointment. The State is identifying locations where mass vaccinations can take place once the supply is increased.The supply of vaccines is a serious problem. The State, and the country, is anxiously anticipating the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It is in its final stage of testing and will seek emergency authorization by the end of February. Having another manufacturer of the vaccine will have a significant impact on speeding up the State’s ability to vaccinate the general population of Ohio residents.I hope this answers some of the questions and I will continue to provide any updates as I receive them.Be safe,Mayor Ted Yates

This press release was produced by the City of Twinsburg.The views expressed here are the author’s own.