Here are the latest details on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the area:
• Pending expiration has led Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to urge vaccinations.
With approximately 200,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Ohio set to expire on June 23, DeWine issued an urgent communication to vaccine providers Monday asking them to distribute as many doses as possible to eligible Ohioans, as quickly as possible.
He is also appealing to Ohioans who have not been vaccinated yet.
“For Ohioans who have been waiting to get their vaccine, I urge you to take action now. There are many opportunities throughout the state to get a vaccine,” DeWine said. “The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is one of those options. It is safe and effective and only requires one shot. In just two weeks, you could be protected from this virus. Getting vaccinated is the quickest way out of the pandemic and the fastest way for us to return to the lives we remember.”
At this time, Ohio does not have legal options for sending the vaccine elsewhere, either to other states or other countries.
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has directed all providers to follow a first-in, first-out process for vaccine to ensure doses with the soonest expiration dates are being used first.
ODH also has been aggressively working with COVID-19 vaccine providers across the state to identify tactics to use as many doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine before they expire. Some of these tactics include forming community partnerships to offer special vaccination clinics, offering more mobile vaccination opportunities in partnering with community groups at community events and for home-bound individuals, and offering the vaccine as part of ongoing maintenance programs with congregate setting staff and residents, as well as correctional/detention centers.
More than 5.3 million Ohioans have started the COVID-19 vaccination process, and more than 4.7 million are fully vaccinated. On June 5, Ohio hit a long-awaited benchmark: fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 residents in Ohio. While these are positive signs, the threat of COVID-19 still remains, DeWine said.
The risk of going unvaccinated impacts not only those who choose not to be vaccinated, but to those around them. Lower vaccination rates put children under 12, who don’t yet have a COVID-19 vaccine authorized for their age group, at risk, as well as the small percentage of Ohioans who can’t be vaccinated, or those with certain immune disorders. The more Ohioans who are vaccinated, the more we can protect ourselves, and one another.
• Over Monday and Tuesday, the Fulton County Department of Health reported five new COVID-19 cases, for a total of 4,316 cases.
There have been 247 hospitalizations in the county. There have been 71 total deaths since March 2020. Both are unchanged.
Lucas County had 43,225 cases and 850 deaths as of Tuesday. Defiance County had 4,313 cases and 98 deaths, Williams County 3,467 cases and 78 deaths, and Henry County 2,730 cases and 67 deaths.
Ohio has had 1,105,329 cases as of Tuesday. Statewide, there have been 59,651 hospitalizations and 8,188 intensive care unit admissions related to the disease, as of Tuesday’s update.
There have been 20,021 deaths of Ohioans reported through Tuesday.
• Only one zip code in Fulton County had cases available to report over the last two weeks, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health. Wauseon had 5 cases.
Case counts were listed as not available for all other Fulton County zip codes.
• A COVID-19 vaccine clinic will be held Friday 2-6 p.m. at the Fayette Opera House. Free vaccines are available for Fulton County residents 12 years of age or older.
Register at fultoncountyhealthdept.com.
• Share your local COVID-19 related information at [email protected]
