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University Hospitals starts giving COVID-19 vaccines to the public

As of Tuesday, Ohioans 80 years of age and older are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the state's Phase 1B program.

CLEVELAND — As the state of Ohio shifts to Phase 1B in its distribution of the coronavirus vaccine, University Hospitals (UH) began the process of giving doses to the public on Tuesday. 

Ohio residents 80 years of age and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 

According to UH, 530 patients were scheduled for vaccinations on Tuesday and the number of daily appointments will be increasing in the coming days. Vaccines at UH are being distributed by appointment only. 

The first patient to receive a vaccine was 80-year-old Edna Hall of Elyria. Edna has six children and 12 grandchildren. Her son Joseph lives in Independence and drove to Elyria this morning to take her to her 8 a.m. appointment in Shaker Heights. “It’s just that important,” she said.

Among the other recipients on Tuesday was 101-year-old Malcolm Brahms. Dr. Brahms is a former surgeon who is retired from University Hospitals. 

Credit: University Hospitals

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Those in Group 1B can now pre-register to schedule their COVID-19 vaccination with UH. You don’t have to be a prior UH patient to register to receive a vaccine with UH.

Fill out the secure pre-registration form at this link. When appointment times become available for a particular patient, UH will contact that patient via text or email, providing a phone number for the patient to call to speak with a scheduler. At this time, UH is only able to accommodate people with scheduled appointments.

Initially, UH will provide all public COVID-19 vaccinations by appointment only at the UH Management Services Center located at 3605 Warrensville Center Rd. in Shaker Heights. UH is exploring opening more locations for public vaccinations in the future.

Click here for more: https://www.uhhospitals.org/services/covid-19-vaccine

The state hopes each week to be able to expand those eligible for vaccinations. On January 25, those Ohioans 75 and older are scheduled to be able to get the coroanvirus vaccine, along with those people with severe congenital, developmental and early onset medical disorders.

On February 1, Ohioans ages 70 and older and employees of K-12 schools that are planning to remain or return to in-person or hybrid learning will be eligible. Those Ohioans 65 years of age and older will be able to receive their vaccine on February 8.

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