TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department is holding a virtual briefing Thursday to give an update on the distribution plan for the fourth week of Phase 1B in Lucas County, and announced a target of vaccinating about 8,000 K-12 school staff personnel next week in a two-day period.
Health Commissioner Eric Zgodzinski said that 35,669 people have been vaccinated in Lucas County, which is 8.33% of the population.
K-12 SCHOOL STAFF COVID-19 VACCINATIONS
Next week, K-12 school staff in Lucas County will start getting vaccinated and the two-day span is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12 and 13 at the ROTC hall at the University of Toledo campus.
"The important thing is, you're going to see something in Lucas County that I don't think you've seen in the state of Ohio," Zgodzinski said. "(We aim to get) 8,000 teachers and staff through a mass vaccination site in two days. It's going to be a lift for us but I believe we can do it. We've been working with UT to find a large campus and it will be at the ROTC hall."
Zgodzinski said that the health department has worked with UT and Mercy Health, as well as all of the Lucas County school systems and reiterated that instructions will come to staff from their school administrators via an email that describes how to schedule.
SCHOOL STAFF VACCINE DO'S AND DON'TS
- Do NOT use public signup links and do NOT call 2-1-1 for scheduling.
- DO contact your school administrators with questions. Things your administrators can help you with include:
- People who are not available during vaccination times
- Those who could not get an appointment this week
- Those who were not included in the initial eligible list
Zgodzinski says they've received about 7,000 doses to vaccinate school staff and are making up the rest with supply they have.
However, the vaccine remains in short supply. The county does not get more doses as more people get added to the eligibility list for the vaccine.
Essentially, this means the vaccine becomes even more scarce when more groups get added, until production levels increase.
The health department also is addressing vaccine hesitancy in the region.
The health department is also issuing a new series of "myth-busting" videos and a town hall with the VProject is set for Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. on Facebook. You can visit the event link here: https://www.facebook.com/events/428544075125812
Lucas County Phase 1B Vaccine Distribution
Here is the schedule already released by the health department:
- Week of February 1st- 70 & older are eligible for vaccine (schedule opens on Jan 28)
- Week of February 8th - 65 & older are eligible for vaccine (schedule opens on Feb. 4)
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VACCINE SCHEDULING
- Individuals should schedule only their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.
- bring a form of identification (such as driver’s license, Medicare card, birth certificate, or other proof of age) and your insurance card. Some providers may bill medical insurance for individuals that have medical insurance, however individuals do not need to have insurance to receive the vaccine. There is no cost to the individual regardless of insurance coverage.
- Appointments may be canceled or rescheduled up to 48 hours in advance of the appointment time.
- Only individuals that live or worked in Lucas County and are 70 years of age or older are eligible to receive the vaccine at this time. Appointments for individuals that do not meet current eligibility criteria will be canceled.
HELP WITH VACCINE SCHEDULING
If you need assistance scheduling an appointment online, please contact United Way 2-1-1 (dial 211 from any phone) or the Area Office on Aging at 419-382-0624.
