Coronavirus: State reports over 777,000 cases since beginning of pandemic

The state reported 6,088 more cases of coronavirus today, bringing total cases to 777,065. The average number of cases in a day currently sits at 7,346 the Ohio Department of Health reported.

101 more people have been hospitalized and 28 more people died, bringing total hospitalizations to 41,158 and deaths to 9,627, meaning just over 600 people have died since Jan. 2, when the state passed the milestone of 9,000 deaths from COVID-19. The current average for deaths per day is 75.

Currently, there are 4,236 people hospitalized with coronavirus. In southwest Ohio, 1,130 people are currently hospitalized, an increase of 27 people since yesterday, the Ohio Hospital Association reported.

Weeks after delivery, thousands of coronavirus vaccine doses locally and millions of doses nationwide are sitting on shelves instead of getting into arms.

Between 5 million and 6 million Americans have received the first dose of a two-shot regimen according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, far from the federal government’s goal to give the first shot to 20 million people before the end of 2020.

As o Friday, 576,000 doses had been sent to Ohio in the nearly four weeks since the first shipment arrived on Dec. 14, according to the CDC. But less than half of those doses have been administered according to Ohio Department of Health numbers. And Ohio is doing better than about 30 other states.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has said he is not satisfied with the rate at which the vaccine is being distributed in the state and has urged providers to move faster, even setting a goal for hospitals to administer doses within 24 hours of receipt.

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