New groups eligible for vaccination – On Monday, March 8, Governor Mike DeWine announced, in response to the increased vaccine supply, expanded eligibility for Ohioans.

o Phase 2B, effective March 11, extends age-based vaccine eligibility to age 50 and older due to the risk of more severe reactions and outcomes of COVID-19 increasing with age. This opens vaccination to approximately 1.2 million additional Ohioans.
o Phase 1D, effective March 11, includes approximately 197,000 eligible Ohioans under the age of 50 with certain medical conditions not addressed in previous phases.
People with type 2 diabetes.
People with end-stage renal disease.

o Target population/occupation (TP/O) forms have been updated to reflect the additional eligible populations. Click here to access the checklist and the codes.

New Vaccine Management Solution is live – The Vaccine Management Solution (VMS) scheduling website launched to the public March 8. Providers are required to either schedule vaccines using this system or an electronic health record (EHR) that interfaces with the system in a manner that allows direct booking from VMS. This will streamline the experience, reduce data lags, and provide real-time information on vaccination progress.

Vaccine providers who are receiving allocations but have not received an invitation to join VMS are asked to call the ODH Provider Call Center at 1-844-9ODHVAX (1844-963-4829) or email [email protected]
Training resources are available on the COVID-19 Vaccine Providers page.
VMS 411 sessions take place every Wednesday and Friday, from 3-4 p.m.
• Join online using Microsoft Teams: http://bit.ly/OhioVMA411
• Join by phone: 872-215-2965 • Phone conference ID: 739 278 746#
• One-click dial by phone: +1 872-215-2965, 739278746#

Mass vaccination sites – The State of Ohio is sponsoring 18 mass vaccination clinics to ensure all Ohioans have access to COVID-19 vaccine as it becomes more widely available. Any Ohioan who is eligible to receive the vaccine under the Ohio Department of Health’s vaccination plan will be able to get a vaccination at any of Ohio’s mass vaccination clinics.
o A Cleveland clinic will open March 17 at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University and run for eight weeks.
o Columbus and Cincinnati pop-up clinics will be held March 18-21 and April 8-11 at St. John Arena at Ohio State University and March 18-20 and April 8-10 at the Cintas Center at Xavier University.
o Mobile clinics will distribute vaccine in four regions: northwest/west-central Ohio, southeast Ohio, north-central Ohio, and east-central Ohio.
o Long-term clinics will operate in Akron, Chillicothe, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Lima, Marietta, Maumee, Wilmington, Youngstown, and Zanesville.

New CDC guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued recommendations on activities that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely resume. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine.
o Fully vaccinated individuals can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart, visit with unvaccinated people from one other household indoors without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart if everyone in the other household is at low risk for severe disease, and refrain from quarantine and testing if they do not have symptoms of COVID-19 after close contact and possible exposure.
o Fully vaccinated individuals should continue to take COVID-19 precautions including wearing masks and social distancing when in public, when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple other households, and when around unvaccinated people who are at high risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19. Read the full recommendation on the CDC website.