With the demand for the COVID-19 vaccine in Ohio declining, the state is taking only 20.1 percent of the first-dose vaccines offered it by the federal government this week.

The state had 324,600 first-dose vaccines allotted to it and ordered only 65,370 doses.

Of the remaining doses, the state asked that 139,230 doses of the Pfizer vaccine remain in the state’s stockpile in anticipation of using it for those between the ages of 12 and 15, said Alicia Shoults, an Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer on Monday for children that age on an emergency basis. Approval for anyone between the ages of 12 and 15 could come today.

Also, the state gave 120,000 doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the federal vaccine pool to be used by other states as needed, Shoults said.

This is the first time Ohio has given up vaccines to other states.

“We feel it is is important to contribute to this federal pool to ensure other states have adequate vaccine and because there may be a time when Ohio also needs to use this shared vaccine pool,” Shoults said.

Ohio has seen a sharp decline in the number of people wanting the COVID-19 vaccine in the past month.

“Vaccine is precious,” Shoults said. “Many providers in Ohio have adequate vaccine supply on-hand and requested that additional doses not be shipped to them the week of May 10. Ordering only what can be used in the state week by week ensures that this vaccine is preserved for who and when it is needed.”

The 139,230 Pfizer doses this week is on top of the 480,180 vaccine doses the state has asked the federal government to hold in its stockpile over the last few weeks “for use at a later date,” Shoults said.

While the amount of vaccinations given to Ohioans has been lower, the number of new COVID-19 cases for close to a month, and particularly since May 2, has declined.

The 1,411 new cases reported Tuesday was up from the daily average of 1,387 for the past 21 days, according to the ODH.

Cases have been below 1,500 per day for the past 10 days.

The state had a total of 1,085,733 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday with 1,038,027 presumed recovered and 19,441 deaths.

The ODH provides death information on Tuesdays and Fridays.

There was an increase of 13 deaths since Friday.

Mahoning County had 21,629 total COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday with 20,401 presumed recovered and 588 deaths, according to the ODH.

Trumbull County had 16,082 total COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday with 15,167 presumed recovered and 468 deaths.

Columbiana County had 8,816 total COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday with 8,372 presumed recovered and 229 deaths.

VACCINATIONS

There were 4,880,699 people, 41.75 percent of the state’s population, who at least had started getting inoculated as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, including 18,219 in the previous 24 hours, according to the ODH.

In Mahoning County, 41.06 percent of the population (93,901 people) had received at least one dose with 39.2 percent of the population in Trumbull County (77,598 people) and 33.43 percent in Columbiana County (34,064 people) as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to the ODH.

There were 4,225,951 people, 36.15 percent of the state’s population,who finished the vaccinations as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, including 37,928 in the prior 24 hours.

In Mahoning County, 35.6 percent of the population (81,416 people) had completed the process while 33.42 percent of the population in Trumbull (66,162 people) and 29.47 percent of the population in Columbiana (30,021 people) had as of 6 a.m. Tuesday.

With the Pfizer vaccine expected today to be approved for those between the ages of 12 and 15, Akron Children’s Hospital will offer it at its Boardman facility. Appointments can be made online at akronchildrens.org/covidvaccine.

dskolnick@vindy.com