TOLEDO, Ohio — March 29 will be a big day in Ohio, and the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department is gearing up to meet increased demand for the COVID-19 vaccine.
All adults in Ohio will be eligible to receive the vaccine by the end of the month, and Health Commissioner Eric Zgodzinski is confident there will be plenty of supply locally. Although he acknowledged it will be tight for a short while yet.
"I do believe the demand will outweigh supply for a couple weeks yet," Zgodzinski said. "But we are going to get increased doses. We don't know how much. But Gov. DeWine assures us we will be getting more."
Between the federal and state supply, Zgodzinski said Lucas County will have enough vaccine to go around when the eligibility window opens wide. The Lucas County Recreation Center, northwest Ohio's mass vaccination site, will have the capacity to vaccinate 20,000 people a day when supply increases.
The increase in eligible people means longer hours for volunteers at clinics, and the health department is looking for more. Nurses, EMS personnel, pharmacists, parking and traffic personnel, among others are needed.
"As we increase the number of vaccines, we have to increase hours and staff," Zgodzinski said. "You can't have someone vaccinating for 10 or 12 hours, so we need additional bodies. The jobs range from typing on a computer to directing traffic."
The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority will be offering free rides from the downtown hub to the rec center for anyone receiving a vaccine. Zgodzinski said more information will be released soon.
Zgodzinski still believes we're at least a couple months away from hitting 50 cases per 100,000 people, the threshold the governor said needs to be met for two weeks to remove all restrictions. Lucas County is sitting at 170.
"My concern right now is we're seeing an uptick in cases," Zgodzinski said. "We average 55 and spiked at 70 the other day. I'm hoping we see that level off and come down again. We have to watch that. Are we going to get to that 50 anytime soon? Maybe June is a date to shoot for."
Zgodzinski also said the COVID variants remain a concern. He said there are no cases of the U.K. variant in Lucas County right now, but believes there will be at some point. He stressed the vaccines seem to work well against current variants.
In a matter of weeks, many more Ohioans will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, as Gov. Mike DeWine announced earlier this week that availability will be extended to residents ages 16 and older by March 29.
In addition, starting March 19, all Ohioans who are 40 years old or older plus those who have cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, heart disease or are obese can start making their vaccination appointments.
The next phases to roll out are termed Phase 2C (Ohioans who are 40+ years old) and Phase 1E (people with cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, heart disease, obesity).
The health department has this link on its website where people in the appropriate age groups can click to begin the process to obtain a vaccination. Appointment sign-ups for next week in the county open up at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Even if it's not your age group's time, you can go on the health department website - https://lucascountyhealth.com/ - and fill out the initial "I'm interested" questionnaire. You will then be contacted when it comes time for them to sign up for an actual time.
It is important to remember, that pre-registration does not guarantee you a spot. You will still need to register once you qualify.