Ohio Gov. DeWine: 60% of nursing home staff haven't been vaccinated

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Trump holding his first in-person event following his coronavirus diagnosis at the White House.

As the nation pushes forward with its drive to vaccinate frontline workers for COVID-19, 60% percent of nursing home staff members in Ohio have so far chosen not to receive the coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Mike DeWine said.

"We aren’t going to make them, but we wish they had a higher compliance," he said. "Our message today is the train may not be coming back for a while."

Nursing home staff members who initially refused the vaccination will get three visits for the vaccine. After the initial visit, pharmacies administering vaccines will come back to give out the second dose of the two-part vaccine and the initial dose to anyone who hasn’t gotten it. They will follow it up to complete the inoculation for those who got the vaccine in the second visit, DeWine said. 

"Everyone makes their own choice about this, but we want to make it clear that opportunity may not come back for a while," he said.

DeWine, frustrated with the pace of vaccinations, said he wanted to instill a "sense of urgency" to those eligible.

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The state has vaccinated 94,078 people already but expects to have 529,900 doses by the end of the year. Only 17% of doses distributed have been administered in the state, DeWine said. 

"I’m not satisfied with where we are in Ohio," he said. "We’re not moving fast enough, but we’re going to get there."

DeWine said the state is asking hospitals to get vaccines into arms within 24 hours of receiving them to try to speed up inoculations. 

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"While we can’t control how much comes in every week, we certainly can control how fast that we get it out," he said. "That is incumbent upon all of us Ohioans to make sure it gets out as fast as we can get it out. It is a lifesaver."

About 2.67 Americans have received their first shot of the vaccine, according to Bloomberg’s latest count. That’s the highest tally of any nation so far 

In the next phase of vaccine rollout, teachers and school administrators will be eligible, but DeWine declined to give a timeline for when that might be. He said the first phase didn’t have to be completed to move on to the next, "but we have to be well on our way."

"We want them to be able to be vaccinated so that we have the opportunity for parents and the opportunity for schools to put kids back in schools," he said.

The governor also announced a three-week extension of the statewide curfew. From 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., residents will be required to stay home except for essential services and those going to and from work. 

The extension came as DeWine said COVID cases plateaued but at a "very high, high level."

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Ohio reported 8,178 new cases Wednesday and 133 new deaths. December has been the deadliest month of the pandemic in the state, with 2,426 deaths.