Union County residents who are 80 and older will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine beginning Jan. 20.
The group is the first of Gov. Mike DeWine’s second priority group – called Phase 1B – to receive the vaccine. Phase 1B includes those 65 and older, individuals with severe medical conditions and adults working in schools.
DeWine mandated that the week of Jan. 18 be reserved specifically for those 80 and older.
Union County Health Department officials said they generally receive vaccines on Monday or Tuesday of each week, so the first clinic will be held Wednesday, Jan. 20.
The clinic will be by appointment only.
UCHD Public Information Officer Jennifer Thrush said appointments are necessary to control the flow of traffic and help meet data reporting requirements from the Ohio Department of Health.
Those in the eligible age group who are interested in receiving the shot can make an appointment through an online scheduler at www.UCHDclinic.org. Individuals without a computer or internet access should call UCHD at (937) 642-2053 for help making an appointment.
UCHD officials said the online scheduler will open at 9 a.m. Friday.
The vaccines will be available on a first come, first serve basis.
Once the available appointments for the week have been booked, the online scheduler will close. A new scheduler will open online the following week.
Thrush said each Thursday UCHD will provide an update regarding the date and time the following week’s scheduler will open.
Those with an appointment will receive the vaccine in a drive-thru format at the Union County Fairgrounds. They will stay in their car while the shot is administered.
Thrush said those receiving the vaccine will need to bring proof of age (an ID or birth certificate) to the clinic to verify they are eligible for the vaccine.
The number of appointments available each week is dependent on how many vaccine doses Union County is allocated by the state.
UCHD officials said “supply remains very limited.”
Thus far, the local health department has received 100 doses in most weekly shipments.
“We anticipate receiving as few as 100 doses and as many as 500 doses a week for the next several weeks,” Thrush wrote in a statement.
However, she said UCHD is not told how many doses they will receive for the upcoming week until Tuesday or Wednesday of the current week.
She added that the health department aims to administer every dose they receive within the week they receive it.
Each consecutive week, the vaccine will become available to another group within the Phase 1B designation.
The week of Jan. 25, those 75 and older become eligible; the week of Feb. 1, appointments will be open to those 70 and older and adults working in schools; and the week of Feb. 8, those 65 and older can receive the vaccine.
Not everyone in the previous group will be vaccinated before appointments open to the next age range, DeWine has previously emphasized.
Due to limited supply, Thrush noted that vaccinating Phase 1B will take an extended period of time.
“It will take many weeks to vaccinate every person who wants to be vaccinated in the 65+ age group,” she included in a statement.
Thrush added that UCHD estimates there are about 7,000 Union County residents who are 65 or older.