dskolnick@tribtoday.com
YOUNGSTOWN With the number of people in the state getting COVID-19 vaccines slowing down, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown urged Ohioans to get inoculated.
“Most people I know that haven’t gotten vaccines have some fear about it, and there’s no real evidence out there that people should be afraid of this vaccine,” Brown said Thursday after a visit to the Covelli Centre, where the Youngstown City Health District had a COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
Brown, D-Ohio, said the number of people wanting the vaccine is down nationally.
“There’s still lots of people who need to get vaccinated,” he said. “There’s no question getting vaccinated is safe. There’s no question this vaccine is effective. We’ll never get our economy back operating on all cylinders until we get most everybody vaccinated. That’s our mission.”
YOUNGSTOWN Youngstown City Health District used to expect 400 sign-ups for its larger COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
As demand for the coronavirus vaccine plummets statewide, seeing 70 sign-ups for today’s clinic at the Covelli Centre is “a big deal,” said city health Commissioner Erin Bishop.
As Ohio now crawls toward the next milestone of 50-percent vaccinated, the outreach efforts of local health departments such as mobile vaccination units that go into areas with low vaccine uptake are becoming more important, Gov. Mike DeWine said.
“We are relying on a great deal of creativity we’re seeing in communities across the state,” the governor said during a Monday briefing. “They’re pulling out all the stops … they’re taking it directly to people.”
Gov. Mike DeWine during the state s coronavirus update on Thursday, April 15, 2021.
TOLEDO For most months of the pandemic, Gov. Mike DeWine has opened his state briefings by listing sources of COVID-19 outbreaks.
He described summer weddings turned COVID-19 hotspots and singled out outbreaks at karaoke nights and on sports teams.
Ohio s COVID-19 cases are back on the rise, but the state s pandemic strategy has shifted to vaccinations, with far less emphasis on analysis of COVID-19 spread.
Trending in the other direction
The prospect of Ohio s post-pandemic reopening is slipping farther out of reach.
Gov. Mike DeWine promised the state could reopen when it reports 50 cases per 100,000 people over two weeks. Four weeks ago, that figure hovered around 135 per 100,000. This week, it rose to 200 cases per 100,000 four times the state goal.
YOUNGSTOWN The city’s parks and recreation summer programs, shut down in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are moving ahead this year.
The city’s summer camp program will be June 7 to Aug. 6 with early registration starting today.
Registration is 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays at the summer camp office, 3025 South Ave. A registration event will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 15 at Wick Park with extended registrations at locations throughout the city May 17 to 21.
Reservations for pavilion rentals will begin May 3 in person, by appointment only, at the parks and recreation office on the first floor of city hall. Call the department at 330-742-8711 or email parks@youngstownohio.gov to make an appointment.
dskolnick@tribtoday.com
The problems with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for COVID-19 are “very rare” and the pause will “be short,” Gov. Mike DeWine said.
DeWine announced Tuesday the temporary pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine came in response to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, following extremely rare, but severe, blood clotting of six women between the ages of 18 and 48 nationally receiving the vaccine.
At least 6.8 million people nationally, including 264,311 Ohioans, have received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
DeWine said White House officials described to him the pause “as days to weeks rather than weeks to months.”