Ohio is planning to receive the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine around December 15, with another batch coming a week later. This begins the multi-tiered distribution process of immunization for the coronavirus in the state.
Health care workers and caregivers working with high-risk individuals are set to be among the first in Ohio to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The first batch will be the Pfizer vaccine then the Moderna vaccine is set to arrive in Ohio a week later.
Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) says the state will be continuing to refine the list of who can get the vaccine and when.
"You're balancing getting it out quickly at the same time you're balancing getting it out in a priority manner. Both of those are factors that have to be considered," says DeWine.
Watch: Gov. Mike DeWine answers questions about the state's COVID-19 vaccine plan.
The working draft for Ohio's distribution of a vaccine lays out a four-phase plan:
Phase 1A: High-risk healthcare workers, first responders
Phase 1B: Older adults in congregate/overcrowded settings, people at "higher risk due to comorbid or underlying conditions"
Phase 2: Critical risk workers "essential to society" such as healthcare/public health operations, teachers, school staff, people in group homes, people/staff in prisons, jails, detention centers
Phase 3: Young adults, children, workers in industries and occupations "important to the functioning of society and at an increased risk of exposure"
Phase 4: Everyone else residing in Ohio who did not have access in the previous phases
News of the vaccine comes as DeWine and health officials plead with Ohioans to slow the spread of the virus Thanksgiving week by wearing masks and observing distance.
