CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County health officials announced Thursday that they will not begin the rollout of Phase 1B of the COVID-19 vaccine until they have vaccinated all eligible residents in Phase 1A.
The Thursday afternoon press conference lead by Cuyahoga County Board of Health Commissioner, Terry Allan, addressed some of the top questions on Northeast Ohioans' minds regarding the next step in immunizations against the coronavirus.
During the briefing, Allan said that although roughly 90 different outlets- including hospitals and pharmacies- will receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the next few days, the county itself will not begin Phase 1B just yet. Allan estimates that there are roughly 10,000 people still left in Phase 1A as of January 14.
"Right now, we are going to finish the job, working through phase 1a," Allan said during the Thursday press conference.
Allan did say that the 90 or so pharmacies, hospitals, and outlets within Cuyahoga County may begin vaccinating people in Phase 1B next week. Individuals who would like to receive the vaccine from one of these immunizers will have to reach out to that outlet, individually.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine laid out the details of Phase 1B earlier this month during one of his 2 p.m. press conferences.
According to DeWine, Phase 1B will include the vaccination of adults 65 years or older, those with developmental disorders including Sickle Cell or down syndrome and all teachers and staff at K-12 schools planning to reopen for in-person learning.
"We hope in approximately two weeks from now to be starting in on this 1B group," DeWine said on January 5.
Earlier this week, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson announced that the city had received 6,500 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine so far, but as of Tuesday, had only given out 1,767 doses.