Ideastream

The First COVID-19 Vaccine Has Arrived In Ohio

Ideastream Public Media - WCPN News | By Anna Huntsman

Published December 14, 2020 at 3:15 PM EST

Updated: 11:15 a.m., Monday, Dec. 14, 2020

The first shipments of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Ohio, and Ohioans will begin getting vaccinated as soon as Monday morning.

Trucks carrying the vaccines rolled into an area outside of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus around 9:30 a.m. Monday.

“This really is the day we've been waiting for,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “It starts the process of the end. We know the end is a long way off, but the end now is in sight.”

Another historic moment. The first Ohioans have now been vaccinated against #COVID19 at @OSUWexMed. We wouldn’t be here without the tireless work of scientists, researchers, manufacturers, and the many others who worked hard to get this vaccine to Ohio. pic.twitter.com/8vJELwaRxb — Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) December 14, 2020

“This really is the day we've been waiting for,” DeWine said. “It starts the process of the end. We know the end is a long way off, but the end now is in sight.”

The University of Cincinnati (UC) Medical Center also received its vaccine allocation Monday, about an hour after the doses arrived at OSU, DeWine added.

Wexner Medical Center and UC Medical Center are two of 10 hospitals selected as prepositioned sites to receive the shots first in Ohio. The remaining eight hospitals, including Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth here in Cuyahoga County, will get their doses Tuesday, DeWine said.

Each hospital will receive 975 doses, DeWine said.

“This really is the day we've been waiting for,” DeWine said. “It starts the process of the end. We know the end is a long way off, but the end now is in sight.”

DeWine will hold another press briefing at 3 p.m. Monday.

Officials from Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth told ideastream they do not yet know what time their shipments are expected to arrive.

Delivery dates for hospitals that were not picked to receive the vaccine first, such as University Hospitals, are also not yet known, a UH spokesperson said.

The Pfizer vaccine was authorized for emergency use in the United States Saturday, and shipments were sent out Sunday. The Food and Drug Administration is meeting to review a second vaccine, from pharmaceutical company Moderna, later this week.