Widespread vaccinations for COVID-19 coronavirus in Cleveland a long way off because of short supplies – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio Clevelands health department is developing plans for vaccinating people against COVID-19 coronavirus on the fly as it gets doses from the state, interim Health Director Brian Kimball said Monday.

But Kimball told City Councils Health and Human Services Committee that widespread vaccination is a long way off because the supply of vaccine being made available to health departments and others is nowhere near enough to meet demands.

At this point, the city as well as hospitals, health centers and pharmacies that also are providing vaccinations dont know from week to week how many new doses they can expect to receive.

Because of the limited supply and the limited doses weve been receiving on a weekly basis, we have to be strategic as to how and where we administer the vaccine, Kimball said. We dont want to cause a panic and cause individuals to travel to a location and get there and theres no doses there for them.

People age 65 and older are included in state guidelines for Phase 1B, with those 80 and older targeted first.

About 15,000 Cleveland residents are age 80 and older, but only about 5,000 doses of vaccine for that group were received among the 30 organizations in Cleveland providing vaccinations, said Tracy Martin-Thompson, whose duties include overseeing the Health Department for Mayor Frank Jacksons administration.

So, for now, the city is relying on its Department of Aging to circulate information to senior high-rise buildings and to the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority as it uses its limited supply of vaccine, Kimball said. That way, the city can register people for vaccinations ahead of time and ensure no vaccine is wasted.

Cleveland did establish a vaccination clinic at Public Auditorium and created a mobile unit to take vaccine to nursing homes. It plans to set up other sites at recreation centers, eventually.

Last week 140 people age 80 and older were vaccinated at the Collinwood Recreation Center. Vaccinations are expected to be set up this week on the citys West Side, tentatively at Estabrook Recreation Center.

Cleveland received 200 doses, most of which were administered last week at Collinwood Recreation Center. Another 100 doses are expected this week, Kimball said.

For Phase 1A frontline health workers, EMTs and staff and residents in nursing homes Cleveland received 6,900 vaccine doses. As of Monday, the city had administered 5,590 doses to people who fit Phase 1A criteria, according to the Jackson administration.

All of the organizations doing vaccinations in Cleveland -- including the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and MetroHealth System -- have been receiving limited amounts of vaccine, Martin-Thompson said.

Kimball said it is unknown how long the limited supply of vaccine will hamper mass vaccinations against the coronavirus.

Vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna are the only two approved by the federal government for use at this point. A vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson is under review and could become available by March, Kimball said.

Meanwhile, Cleveland is working to improve communications with the hospitals and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health to bolster vaccine coordination, Martin-Thompson said.

Regular conversations occur among those entities and the city, but an overall plan of attack for coordinating vaccinations throughout Cleveland wasnt developed because of the desire to start vaccines immediately after the state issued eligibility guidelines, she said.

Cleveland residents can get more information about the availability of vaccinations by calling the citys Health Department at 216-664-2222. Other information is available through the countys 211 information line, Kimball said.

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Widespread vaccinations for COVID-19 coronavirus in Cleveland a long way off because of short supplies - cleveland.com