Ohio To Lower Vaccine Recipient Age To 50+

The age of those eligible Ohioans to receive a COVID-19 vaccination will be lowered to age 50+ starting Thursday, March 11th. That was the word that came from Governor Mike DeWine during a Monday press update, calling it “Phase 2B”.

A new “1D” vaccination classification will include people with Type-2 diabetes and those suffering with end-stage renal disease.

DeWine says one of the reasons for lowering the age just one week after it was lowered to 60+ was because the Ohio Department of Health was being told that many clinics were having left-over vaccines even with the recent age and physical condition addition.

The governor also announced that the Ohio Department of Health is scheduling vaccine appointments through their scheduling tool through the website www.gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov, which is scheduled to be active as of Monday, March 8th.

“We are requiring providers to either schedule vaccines using this system or another electronic scheduling system that interfaces with this portal. We believe this will streamline the scheduling process, reduce data lags, and provide real-time information on vaccination progress.”

DeWine added “We also will be using this central scheduling tool for appointments for the mass vaccination clinics we announced (last) Friday, where we are anticipating up to 6,000 vaccinations being given a day.”

March 9th marks the 1-year anniversary of Ohio’s first COVID-19 death. As a result, Governor Mike DeWine has ordered all Ohio flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of those who have lost their lives during the pandemic.