CEDARVILLE, Ohio — The state of Ohio is continuing to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to those eligible in the Phase 1B category. On Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced that there will soon be an expansion to one of the eligible groups to be vaccinated.
Starting next week, Ohioans with certain conditions that they were born with or those who were diagnosed in childhood and carried into adulthood will be able to begin receiving vaccines. According to DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, individuals with the following conditions face a significantly higher risk for adverse COVID-19 outcomes:
- Sickle cell anemia
- Down syndrome
- Cystic fibrosis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Cerebral palsy
- Spina bifida
- People born with severe heart defects requiring regular specialized medical care
- Those with severe type 1 diabetes who have been hospitalized in the past year
The entire list of conditions can be seen in the tweet below:
Last month, DeWine announced plans for vaccinating those Ohioans with intellectual or developmental disability AND either a severe congenital, developmental, or early onset condition. Local county developmental disabilities boards have been reaching out to patients to help coordinate receipt of the vaccination. So far, over 12,000 individuals in this group have been vaccinated.
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