Ohio governor says vaccine rollout may have some hiccups, be patient

A nurse prepares a shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy’s Hospital in London, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, as the U.K. health authorities rolled out a national mass vaccination program. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)

DeWine said the goal is to save lives

by: Lindsey Watson

Posted: Jan 14, 2021 / 10:02 PM EST

Updated: Jan 14, 2021 / 10:02 PM EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WYTV) – The COVID-19 vaccine is in short supply. As of Thursday, 361,000 vaccines have been given in Ohio.

Governor Mike DeWine said it’s not ideal, but we have to deal with the scarcity for now, especially as Phase 1B starts to open up.

“We’re not there yet, we don’t have the supplies yet and we are literally going to have to take this one week at a time,” DeWine said.

DeWine said the goal is to save lives, get kids back in school and help frontline workers. Those three things are the driving force behind this vaccine rollout.

He also doesn’t want people to panic and schedule a bunch of vaccine appointments at different locations when registration opens up. He said once you get an appointment confirmation, a shot will be on hand for you.

“It seems to me if people do get the appointment, they move on. Will there be some problems, yeah. There are bound to be some problems, but what I am hoping is the firmness of that appointment, which to my understanding, is what most places are going to do,” DeWine said.

Phase 1B of the vaccine rollout covers roughly 2.2 million people statewide.