Ohio is among the top 10 U.S. states and territories to disburse its doses of the COVID-19 vaccines so far, according to a Bloomberg analysis published this week.
The business news magazine is gathering vaccine administration data from 56 states and territories, as well as other nations across the globe. According to Bloomberg's vaccine tracker, the Buckeye State as of Jan. 4 had received 359,700 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and had administered 162,942, clocking in at a 45.3% administration rate.
That ranked 10th, behind seven other states, the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands territory.
Ohio's COVID-19 vaccination dashboard confirmed Bloomberg's count of vaccine doses begun, which it states comprises 1.39% of the general population.
Kentucky ranked 22nd, and Indiana ranked 34th in the percentage of received doses administered, according to the data gathered by Bloomberg.
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The Bloomberg report described the global vaccination effort as the "biggest...in history," indicating that more than 13 million doses have been administered across 33 countries.
"Delivering billions more will be one of the greatest logistical challenges ever undertaken," the magazine stated.
State and local officials in both Ohio and Kentucky have acknowledged the monumental challenge that distributing the hundreds of thousands of doses already has put before them, with millions more on the way.
"Admittedly, it's going to take us a while to get this vaccine to everyone that wants it," said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in late December. "We believe by certainly the summer, that it's going to be widely available, and that means we need your patience, and that's going to be hard."
In Ohio, Hamilton County Public Health medical director, Dr. Steve Feagins said what began as a slow rollout on a national level is humming along as quickly as expected locally.
"We’re using the same resources that have been taking care of patients all year long,” he said. “There’s not extra resources to do this."
Feagins said part of the problem is the timing with the vaccines arriving during the holidays – then there’s determining eligibility, the actual vaccination process, and data entry.
WCPO 9 News reporters Mariel Carbone and Kristen Swilley contributed to this story.
