WORTHINGTON, Ohio — Despite launching the Vax-a-Million COVID vaccine lottery as an incentive to get more Ohioans vaccinated, Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday that he’s “concerned” about the state’s lower vaccination rates.
“We’re optimistic overall about where we are, but we certainly have pockets around the state where the vaccination rate is exceedingly low -- and that is of grave concern,” Gov. DeWine said.
He said his team is working to find new incentives in an effort to get more shots in arms.
“It is a continuous examination that we are doing in the governor’s office and the Department of Health. What else can we do to encourage more people to get vaccination?”
Gov. DeWine teased last week that more incentives are coming soon, but has not yet provided any of those details as the Vax-a-Million lottery will hold its final drawing next week.
“You’ll see some more initiatives from us. We’ll be announcing some things next week, and the week after and the week after. We’re still very, very focused on this.”
He also said that Vax-a-Million has been very successful, but added that Ohio still has a lot of work to do while acknowledging the state will not meet President Biden’s goal of having at least 70 percent of Americans vaccinated by July 4.
“We think that’s a good goal. We’re certainly not going to be at that point by July 4, but we have some amazing people in our local health departments, our pharmacies, our hospitals, our public health clinics who are working at this every single day. We are not done.”
Here's where Ohio currently stands regarding vaccination rates as of 11 a.m. Friday:
- Ohioans with at least one dose: 46.98 percent or 5,491,905.
- Ohioans who are fully vaccinated: 42.87 percent or 5,011,700.
- As of 11 a.m. Friday, Holmes County currently has the lowest vaccination rate with 15.1 percent.
The map below shows the vaccination rates in Ohio based on county. The darker the shade of blue reflects higher vaccination numbers:
Here are the vaccination rates based on age group as of 11 a.m. Friday:
- Ages 0-19: 9.27 percent
- Ages 20-29: 33.96 percent
- Ages 30-39: 40.97 percent
- Ages 40-49: 47.31 percent
- Ages 50-59: 55.80 percent
- Ages 60-64: 66.44 percent
- Ages 65-69: 75.13 percent
- Ages 70-74: 80.01 percent
- Ages 75-79: 76.63 percent
- Ages 80+: 74.6 percent
The map below shows the vaccination rates in each state. The darker green colors indicate the states with the highest vaccination rates.