COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sixty percent of eligible Ohioans have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
More than 6 million Ohio residents, ages 12 and up, have started the COVID-19 vaccination process.
“By highlighting vaccination rates among those 12 and older, we are reinforcing the importance of keeping kids in school,” Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff said. “This is an important milestone because as more Ohioans gain robust immunity through vaccination, we reduce the opportunities for this virus to spread, mutate, and inflict serious harm—and we get closer to the day when this virus can no longer upend our lives. COVID-19 vaccines are our best protection, and our way out of this pandemic. If you haven’t yet been vaccinated, talk to your doctor to get the facts.”
The milestone for Ohio was announced one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 16 years of age and older. The formula made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech now carries the strongest endorsement from the agency.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla called the FDA's action “an important milestone that I think will unlock some of the more skeptical minds.”
More than 200 million Pfizer doses have been administered in the U.S. — and hundreds of millions more worldwide — since December. But up to now, they were dispensed in this country under what is known as emergency use authorization from the FDA.
Moderna applied to the FDA for full approval of its vaccine a month after Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson said it hopes to do so later this year.
Ohioans can schedule a vaccination appointment at gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. To learn more about the safety, efficacy, and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov/vaccine to learn more.
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