CINCINNATI — Gov. Mike DeWine said Ohio is on track with President Joe Biden’s plan to have a COVID-19 vaccine available to every adult Ohioan by May 1.
“As far as President Biden’s speech last night, where he talked about the goal of by May 1, vaccines being available to every U.S. citizen, best I can tell, we are on track to do that,” DeWine said.
Biden said Thursday he will direct states to make coronavirus vaccines available to all adults by May 1 in an effort to return the U.S. to a state of normalcy by July 4.
DeWine, who toured a vaccination site at Riverview House in East Walnut Hills on Friday morning, said about 150,000 people in Hamilton County, or 18.5% of the population, have received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Friday, DeWine said about 2.2 million Ohioans have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about half of those people have gotten their second dose, DeWine said.
RELATED: Need help registering for COVID vaccine in Hamilton County? Dial 211
DeWine and his wife, Fran DeWine, received their second dose of the vaccine about two weeks ago, so they’ve been touring vaccine sites across the state.
He said he has noticed a sense of relief among people who are able to be vaccinated.
“People do feel the relief. They talk about what they can do now that they couldn’t do before. They talked about visiting grandchildren, they talked about hugging family members, so for us … just to see how uplifted people are when they get the vaccine is very rewarding for us,” DeWine said.
DeWine said he expects it will be difficult to make an appointment for the next week or so, as Ohio just approved anyone 50 and older to receive the vaccine on Thursday.
Hamilton County residents can visit testandprotectcincy.com to make an appointment to receive the vaccine. People who do not have internet access can dial 2-1-1, which is a hotline staffed by United Way.
