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Phase 1B Vaccinations, Medical Reserve Corps,
K-12 Staff Vaccinations/Student Mental Health,
Ohio Public Advisory Health System, Senior Housing, Pfizer Vaccine & Current Case Data
January 29, 2021
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Pandemic Vaccine News & Updates
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Medical Reserve Corps Volunteer Registry
The Ohio Department of Health is seeking licensed healthcare professionals to enroll in the Medical Reserve Corps and help administer the COVID-19 vaccine in Ohio communities. Click here to learn how you can enroll today.
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K-12 Staff Vaccinations
Every public school district in the state - except for one - has agreed to resume in-person schooling by March 1 which was a requirement for staff to have early access to the vaccine.
K-12 schools whose staff can be vaccinated next week have been notified. All other schools will be contacted with information on when their K-12 staff will be permitted to receive a vaccine.
More details on Ohio's K-12 vaccination process will also be released today. The plan ensures that the maximum number of people can be vaccinated in the shortest amount of time. The plan also makes the process as simple as possible for staff to be vaccinated and is organized to allow most K-12 staff in a county to be vaccinated within seven days of their assigned vaccination start date.
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Pandemic Impacts on K-12 Students
Ohio has prioritized getting K-12 students back in schools by March 1 because many adolescents’ social-emotional and mental well-being has been impacted by the pandemic.
According to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the change of routine and the constant uncertainty of the pandemic produces anxiety, and the disconnection from learning, emotional, and social supports can lead to depression. In addition, missed significant life events like graduations, proms, art performances, science competitions, sports, and more can result in grief.
Families and friends should reach out for help if a young person is:
- talking about feeling hopeless;
- worrying about being a burden;
- feeling like there’s no reason to live;
- using drugs, alcohol or engaging in other risky behaviors;
- struggling with school;
- disconnecting from family and friends.
Trained counselors with Ohio's CareLine are available 24/7 at 1-800-720-9616. They can help with a crisis, provide guidance, and connect callers to help in the community.
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Ohio Public Health Advisory System
This week's Ohio Public Health Advisory System map shows little change. Hamilton County is no longer listed as a Level 4 (Purple) Public Emergency, but the rest of the state remains the same as last week. A county-by-county breakdown outlining the presence of COVID-19 in all of Ohio's 88 counties can be found on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System's website.
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Senior Housing Clinics
Governor DeWine announced that, in pursuit of fairness and equity in the distribution of the scarce vaccines, Ohio will be delivering vaccines directly into affordable senior housing locations starting the week of February 8. These senior housing facilities are home to several thousand older Ohioans throughout the state and are often residential clusters with apartment buildings ranging in units from 30 to over 200.
The Ohio Department of Health will be working with local partners to offer assistance through onsite clinics. These clinics will help ease the burden for many seniors having trouble navigating the registration process and arranging transportation.
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Pfizer Vaccine Doses
In many instances, a vial of the Pfizer vaccine can provide six vaccine doses. Some vaccine providers have been able to extract this sixth dose as much as 90 percent of the time based on technique and supplies. These supplies, however, have had limited availability nationally. The key to getting the sixth dose is having access to syringes with low or zero dead volume and, when clinically appropriate, using a one-inch vaccine needle.
The Ohio Department of Health surveyed best practices across the state and have determined that it is possible to reliably extract a sixth dose using a hybrid model of traditional syringes for four doses and the less-available low dead volume syringes for doses five and six.
This approach conserves limited special syringe supply. The Ohio Department of Health will be working with vaccine providers to share this information and provide further guidance to assist them with implementation. |
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Current Case Data
In total, there are 883,716 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 11,006 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 45,786 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 6,644 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Video of the most recent updates, including versions with foreign language translation, can be viewed on the Ohio Channel's YouTube page.
For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.
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The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is leading Ohio’s pandemic response. If you have questions or concerns about their programs, please use the links below. SMBO will continue to share information from ODH as it is received.
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Trusted Resources
- State Medical Board of Ohio COVID-19 updates
- Board of Pharmacy updates
- State of Ohio's website
- Department of Health hotline
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- World Health Organization
- DEA
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