By DAVID SKOLNICK

Staff writer

With demand for the COVID-19 vaccination exceeding supply, the state is slowing down its distribution schedule.

That is why Wilson Carlisle of Brookfield wanted to make sure he was prepared. Carlisle, 96, drove to the Trumbull County Fairgrounds in Bazetta on Tuesday to ensure he knew where he was going when he gets his vaccine on Thursday. The Trumbull County Combined Health District is sponsoring a drive-thru vaccine clinic starting today at the fairgrounds where they plan to vaccinate 400 people a day. The clinic is by appointment only and people wanting to get vaccinated are asked to call 330-675-7844 or visit tcchd.org. They ask you to leave your name, date of birth and phone number, and they will return your call.

The state also could delay distribution even further, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.

On top of that, 155 of the 722 vaccine providers in the state will have their shipments delayed by a day — forcing them to reschedule appointments, he said.

DeWine didn’t disclose the providers impacted by the postponement.

It’s the latest of problems facing Ohio, which has been slow to vaccinate and started giving first doses to those at least 80 years old Tuesday, knowing there aren’t enough doses this week to give to even 25 percent of that age group.

“What we need are more vaccines,” DeWine said.

Those at least 75 years of age will be eligible to get vaccinated starting Monday, as scheduled. But the rest of the plans announced Dec. 23 for seniors could be delayed, he said.

“We may slow it down after” next week, DeWine said without giving specifics.

Those at least 70 years old were supposed to start getting vaccines Feb. 1 and those at least 65 were supposed to start Feb. 8.

Also initially scheduled to get doses starting Monday are younger Ohioans with severe congenital, developmental or early-onset medical disorders.

DeWine, however, said only those with the above disorders as well as having a developmental or intellectual disability will be eligible for the vaccinations starting Monday.

Others in that group will have to wait until the week of Feb. 15 to be eligible for the doses, he said.

GIANT EAGLES

Giant Eagle — which is getting 100 doses each for five of its Mahoning County and six of its Trumbull County pharmacies — today is launching an online vaccine appointment schedule at gianteagle.com/covid.

For those without internet access, they can call their local Giant Eagle pharmacy to ask about appointment availability. But the company said that initial appointment opportunities are expected to be taken fast and urged patience.

“We recognize the inevitable frustrations that many will feel as appointments across Ohio fill up quickly,” said Vic Vercammen, Giant Eagle’s vice president of risk and chief pandemic officer, in a written statement.

He added he expects Giant Eagle to receive additional shipments of the vaccine “in the days to come.”

The 11 local stores’ pharmacies will make initial vaccine appointments starting Thursday through the weekend. More appointments will be made available on the website as the pharmacies receive additional shipments of vaccines.

Mahoning County Public Health District officials said last week that Giant Eagle would start vaccinating today.

A Giant Eagle spokesman didn’t respond to a question about whether the stores were among those impacted by the shipment delay.

About 420,000 people in the state are at least 80 years old, and the state expected to get about 100,000 first-dose COVID-19 vaccines this week. That age group accounts for 53 percent of the state’s COVID-19 fatalities.

SCHOOLS

DeWine said adults at K-12 schools that have in-person or partial in-person instruction or plan to go that route are scheduled to start being vaccinated Feb. 1 and continue over that month.

“We’re going to work directly with schools to determine what the vaccination of school personnel will look like locally,” he said.

DeWine said that 96 percent of public schools have informed the state that they plan to return to in-class instruction at least in part by March 1.

“The state has designated a local educational service center as a working partner,” he said. “Those educational service centers are communicating this week with each school district to confirm final plans. School districts are choosing either a retail pharmacy partner, secured by the state, or an existing local partnership to administer the vaccines.”

There are about 2.2 million people among seniors, those with medical disorders and K-12 staff.

VACCINATION STATS

The Ohio Department of Health reported 456,131 total vaccinations given in the state as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, with 11,636 given in the previous 24 hours. The state started the vaccinations Dec. 14.

The ODH COVID-19 website doesn’t provide information on how many people have received two doses. But the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report at least 13,552 Ohioans have received both doses.

Those vaccinated before Tuesday were health care workers and personnel routinely involved with COVID-19 patients, emergency medical responders and those living and / or working in congregate settings, such as nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

That group comprises about 1 million people so less than half have received at least one dose.

Asked about who would be in the next group, DeWine said he wasn’t ready to make an announcement and that he’s focused on the first two groups, which make up more than 25 percent of the state’s population.

“Everybody will get it that wants it,” DeWine said.

As of Tuesday, 3.9 percent of the state’s population received at least one dose of the vaccine. Two doses are needed.

In the Mahoning Valley, the percentages are lower. In Mahoning County, 3.76 percent of the population (8,600 people), 2.66 percent of Trumbull County’s population (5,272 people) and 3 percent of Columbiana County’s population (3,059 people) have received at least the first dose, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Meanwhile, for the second day in a row, the state reported fewer than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases.

The ODH listed 4,989 cases Tuesday, a day after reporting 4,312 cases.

“We’re seeing fewer cases, but we don’t know if it’s a trend,” DeWine said.

The ODH reported 836,055 total COVID-19 cases in the state Tuesday with 694,905 presumed recovered and 10,336 deaths.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com