“It will take some time,” she said. “Be patient.”
Butler County has vaccinated 17,865 residents, or 4.66 percent of the population, as of Wednesday, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Warren County has vaccinated 13,526 people, or 5.77 percent of the population, and Preble County has vaccinated 1,473, or 3.6 percent.
In Ohio, 682,705 people, or 5.84 percent of the population, have been vaccinated, according to the ODH.
On Wednesday, as part of the Phase 1B rollout several hundred residents 80 and older received their vaccinations during a drive-through clinic at the Butler County Fairgrounds. Bailer said that age group is particularly “fearful and they should be fearful” since they’re at high risk for the coronavirus.
“They want this vaccine badly,” she said.
Meanwhile, those in certain professions are frustrated because their employees haven’t received the vaccine because of the state’s criteria.
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones is upset that his staff, who, he says, are exposed to the virus daily in the jail and patrolling the streets, haven’t been vaccinated before employees in other careers.
“They are not on the first tier, we don’t know when they are going to get it or if there will be any vaccine,” Jones said.
He doesn’t understand why those in law enforcement were not some of the first to receive shots.
“I have corona in the jail and people who enter my jail daily with corona,” Jones said. He said 10 percent of his staff have had the coronavirus and some have been hospitalized while some have quit because they have immune or heath issues.
Jones pointed out hospital workers are being vaccinated because “they are close to where the corona is but they are not giving shots to corrections officers or police officers.”
He doesn’t understand why those in law enforcement are not considered first-responders.
“They arrest people, they stop people, they transport people and all of a sudden they are not supposed to be less in danger than school teachers,” he said.
The Ohio Funeral Directors Association has expressed its frustrations over funeral directors and their employees not receiving the vaccine.
The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) and CDC’s Advisory Council on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that death care workers be placed into Phase 1A for vaccine allocation, according to the association.
OFDA Executive Director Melissa Sullivan said the association that includes more than 3,000 funeral directors, embalmers, crematory operators and apprentices understands physicians, nurses, long term care residents and staff deserve first priority in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
But, she said, those who retrieve those who died as a result of the coronavirus from hospitals and nursing homes are on the “front line of this pandemic.”
She said unlike most other public gatherings, Ohio placed no limits on attendance at funerals forcing funeral home personnel to deal with large numbers of attendees, some of which do not comply with masking or social distancing requirements.
While funeral directors do comply with CDC guidelines and state orders, the potential for being “a hub for the spread of this virus is genuinely concerning,” Sullivan said.
EMS and firefighters/paramedics around the county were offered the vaccinations late last year or early this year.
Hamilton Fire Chief Mark Mercer said the city received its first doses on Dec. 21 and his staff became vaccinated on Dec. 22. He said about 50 percent of the staff chose to be vaccinated.
On Wednesday, Middletown schools became the first district in the state to receive the vaccine.
About 500 Middletown school teachers and staffers received the first of two vaccine injections to protect them from contracting the coronavirus.
“Teachers are no different than my elderly population, healthcare workers,” said Jackie Phillips, the city’s health director. “I want to get everybody vaccinated who wants to be vaccinated.”
Other districts around the state are expected to get the vaccine next week.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has set a March 1 goal for all K-12 students to return to live classes.
“It’s going to be a rolling start,” DeWine said during Tuesday’s news conference. “We’re going to have a large number of schools throughout the state in that first week, and more in the second week and on and on.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
COVID-19 vaccine Phase 1B in Ohio
- This week: Begin those 75 years and older and those with severe congenital or developmental disorders*
- Week of Feb. 1: Begin those 70 years and older and employees of K-12 schools who wish to remain or return to in-person or hybrid models
- Week of Feb. 8: Begin those 65 years and older
* Disorders list includes cerebral palsy, spina bifida, congenital heart disease, Type 1 diabetes, epilepsy, Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Turner syndrome, severe lung disease, cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, sickle cell anemia and alpha and beta thalassemia.
Source: Ohio Department of Health
