DeWine wants vaccinations sped up

SANDUSKY — Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday he is impatient with the slow start in getting Ohioans vaccinated against COVID-19. "We've got to speed it up," DeWine said. The governor also announced that rules have been relaxed for quarantining school children apparently exposed to the virus at school. On Wednesday afternoon, the state's coronavirus vaccine dashboard showed 94,078 Ohioans have received their first shot of vaccine. Erie County has done 1,307 vaccinations. The state health department said this week it expected to get 529,900 doses of vaccine before the end of December. While apparently there has been a time lag in reporting vaccinations promptly, DeWine said he is disappointed the dashboard shows an apparently slow pace so far. DeWine said he believes it is a "moral imperative" to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible. The governor said he is challenging hospitals that have received vaccine doses to use all of the doses in 24 hours and then report the vaccinations promptly to the state. Last week, the Erie County Health Department received 400 doses of vaccine and held a 12-hour clinic the next day to use them all, apparently complying with the standard DeWine announced Wednesday. This week, the department asked for another 400 doses but only received 200 from the state health department. Two state lawmakers who represent Erie County, state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green and state Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, said Wednesday they are looking into the matter. On Wednesday, the health department held its second vaccination clinic, vaccinating firefighters, police officers and sheriff's deputies and also medical workers. DeWine also said he is concerned that many Ohioans who already have been offered vaccinations have turned them down. He alleged only about 40 percent of nursing home employees are accepting the shots. He warned that people who refuse vaccinations may have to wait for weeks to get a second chance. The governor announced new guidelines for exposure to the coronavirus in grades K-12 in public schools. Under the new rules, students and teachers exposed at school to someone who has tested positive for coronavirus will no longer be required to quarantine. The new rule only applies, however, if the exposure took place at school and everyone was wearing masks and following other COVID-19 safety rules. Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for the state health department, said two separate studies suggest that because schools are following safety rules, there have been few transmissions of the virus taking place at school. For most students, school is the safest place they can be, Vanderhoff said. Also Wednesday, DeWine said Ohio's COVID-19 curfew of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. is being extended to January 23 so that officials can see if a holiday surge in cases is affecting hospitals. DeWine repeated the curfew does not apply to people who are out and about because they need to be, for example to get to work or to obtain food or prescription drugs. The governor said he wants to remind liquor permit holders that all locations with a permit are entitled to obtain a $2,500 grant to help with the economic impact of the pandemic. While many have obtained grants, thousands of eligible locations still have not applied to businesshelp.ohio.gov, DeWine said. DeWine said the grant program applies mostly to restaurants and bars, but said there are bowling alleys, movie theaters and even some hair salons that are eligible. On Wednesday, Ohio had 690,748 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in the state and 8,855 deaths. Also Wednesday, Erie County had 5,165 COVID-19 cases, up 228 from Monday, and 107 deaths, an increase of two, according to the Erie County Health Department. There were 45 patients at Firelands Regional Medical Center being treated for COVID-19.