Ohio to roll out online tool to look up vaccine locations

Ohio is rolling out an online tool to allow residents to look up locations where the coronavirus vaccine is available by county and ZIP code, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday. The tool will be available on the state's coronavirus website today, and all local health departments should also have the information on their websites. Ohioans will have to contact the vaccine providers themselves, DeWine said. The state will begin offering vaccines to people 80 and older on Tuesday, and will start vaccinating people in younger age brackets in the following weeks. Ohio still has a limited supply of vaccines but eventually wants to vaccinate anyone who wants the shots, the governor said. "We're not there yet. We don't have the supplies yet. We have to take this literally one week at a time," DeWine said. The state's top priorities continue to be using the vaccine to save lives by making older adults a priority, allow children to go back to school, and help front-line medical workers. DeWine said people 65 and older account for nearly nine of every 10 coronavirus deaths in Ohio. To date, 361,603 Ohioans have received at least one dose of the coronavirus. This includes 5,446 residents in Medina County, roughly 3 percent of the population. The Medina County Health Department said it is ready to move onto Phase 1B of the state's vaccination program, as it will receive about 1,800 vaccine doses next week to begin giving shots to the county's oldest residents. There is hope that this allocation will continue to increase moving forward. In addition to the county health department, 13 providers in Medina County will begin to receive the vaccine for Phase 1B populations next week. Residents may visit www.medinahealth.org/vaccine for a list of vaccine providers in the county. The number of doses available each week within Medina County is subject to state distribution plans. Providers are expected to receive new shipments weekly. "While we know that many people in our community are eager to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the demand for the vaccine remains higher than the available supply," the health department said. "All citizens who want to receive the vaccine will have the opportunity to do so, it will just take time. All those 80 plus who want to receive vaccine will be able to do so within all weeks of the phased age group rollout." No-cost transportation within the county is available for those needing it in order to get vaccinated. For more information, call the Office for Older Adults at (330) 723-9514. The list of providers with vaccine availability include: Medina County Health Department, call (330)723-9688, ext. 243, to schedule an appointment. Marcs, 3303 Center Road, Brunswick. Appointment only; register at www.marcs.com. Giant Eagle, 3440 Center Road, Brunswick. To schedule an appointment, call (330) 225-1159. Marcs, 1041 N. Court St., Medina. Appointment only by registering online. Giant Eagle, 870 N. Court St., Medina. To schedule an appointment, call (330) 721-8028. Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital, 1000 E. Washington St., Medina. Request through Cleveland Clinic MyChart. For more information, call (216)444-2538. Giant Eagle, 825 Ambassador Drive, Wadsworth. To schedule an appointment, call (330) 336-8990. Discount Drug Mart, 1673 Pearl Road, Brunswick. Register online at www.discount-drugmart.com or by calling the pharmacy at (330)225-9615. Discount Drug Mart, 1005 High St., Wadsworth. Register online or by calling the pharmacy at (330) 334-5811. Discount Drug Mart, 135 Harding St., Medina. Register online or by calling (330) 725-7117. Discount Drug Mart, 5923 Wooster Pike, Medina. Register online or by calling (330) 721-0600. Discount Drug Mart, 661 Wooster St., Lodi. Register online or by calling (330) 948-0520. Discount Drug Mart, 38 S. Medina Line Road, Copley. Register online or by calling (330) 670-0060. Discount Drug Mart, 5270 Center Road, Brunswick. Register online or by calling (330) 273-8300. By the numbers In total, there are 807,293 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 9,990 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 42,491 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 6,289 admissions to intensive care units. In Medina County, there are now a total of 10,815 cases. This includes 516 residents who have been hospitalized and 164 residents who have died.