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Toledoans react as first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Lucas County

Ohio received its first doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday. A shipment to Mercy Health St. Vincent Hospital arrived Tuesday morning.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio received its first round of COVID-19 vaccines on Monday and the first shipment arrived in Lucas County on Tuesday morning.

Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center received the shipment shortly before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, representatives confirmed.

Watching footage of the first Americans getting vaccinated was a hopeful experience for some Toledoans.

"We need this badly. There are people who are dying from COVID and, you know, just sitting around biding time is going to kill millions more," Sean Chmura said.

However, others in the area don't expect it to impact them in a major way any time soon.

"I think people are going to wait or people aren't going to get it. Where do you think we're going to be in six months with people getting the vaccine? I don't think it's a serious as people are saying it is," Carl Mayo said.

Mercy St. Vincent's is one of the first hospitals in Ohio with the vaccine, receiving 975 doses. 

RELATED: 'Today is a day we’ve been waiting for' | Mercy Health St. Vincent expects shipment Tuesday as Ohio receives first doses of COVID-19 vaccine

The vaccines will be given out to people most likely to be exposed to coronavirus, like emergency room and ICU employees. 

Mercy was selected for this round of doses because the hospital has the right type of freezers needed to keep the vaccine chilled to the proper temperature.

ProMedica leaders are anticipating its first doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the next few days and expects to be giving it to employees by the end of the week. If all goes well and the Moderna vaccine is approved by the FDA, ProMedica could also receive a shipment of that vaccine option next week.

Even with the first vaccines in arms, things won't go back to "normal" for quite some time. However, Toledoans each have their own vision of what things might look like six months from now.

"You're still going to have to wear a mask and everything that's not going to change, at least not yet, but I think people like me, I feel link everything will be the same," Mayo said.

"Everything will be better, our communities will be boosting up, our jobs will be coming back," Chmura said.

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