DAYTON, Ohio — Coronavirus cases plateaued in Ohio last week, but are on the rise this week.
Gov. Mike DeWine made two new announcements regarding vaccines Thursday at a news conference to combat the rising numbers. This includes an effort launching next week to vaccinate as many college students as possible.
NEW VACCINATION SITE
DeWine announced a new vaccine clinic Thursday for northwest Ohio.
Starting next week, Seneca County will have a large drive through clinic set up in Fostoria at 1600 N. Union St. More information and a start date will be announced in the coming days.
COLLEGE CAMPUS VACCINATIONS
An abundance of Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be used over the next month or so to vaccine as many college students as possible.
DeWine said while it's still important to vaccine the most vulnerable, there should also be an emphasis on those are more likely to spread the virus. All state universities will set up pods to vaccinate students on campus.
"Doing it on campus is very efficient," DeWine said. "We also believe more students will get it if they can get it right there on campus. We believe this will increase the percentage of that group who get the vaccine."
The University of Toledo has already begun the process of vaccinating students. The first main campus vaccine clinic is scheduled for Thursday night.
"The University is grateful to Gov. DeWine for making these additional Johnson & Johnson vaccines available," a UT spokesman said. "A key benefit of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is that it is a single dose, which will allow us to fully vaccinate more students before the end of the spring semester."
UT is working to set up additional clinics prior to the end of the semester.
DeWine noted most colleges will be out for the summer by May 1, and there is a "limited period of time" to vaccinate students in this manner.
BUSINESSES AND LABOR UNIONS
DeWine noted he has heard from many businesses and labor unions wanting to set up vaccine clinics on the job site.
Starting April 12, vaccine providers can allocate up to 25 percent of their doses to do close pods with employees.
COVID DATA
On Thursday, the Ohio Department of Health reported:
- 2,475 new cases of coronavirus compared to the 21-day average of 1,672
- 93 new hospitalizations compared to the 21-day average of 88
- 9 new ICU admissions compared to the rolling average of 9
All of these numbers are higher than last week.
DeWine announced weeks ago that in order to eliminate the mask mandate, cases per 100,000 people in a given county must hit 50 or less for two consecutive weeks. In Lucas County, the number of cases per 100,000 increased to 251 this week compared to 173 last week.
