Vaccination rates accelerate for certain Ohioans as eligibility expands to all adults

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Ohio’s older population is getting vaccinated at slower rates than before, as the state expands eligibility to include all adults. As of Monday, nearly 70 percent of people ages 65 and older in Ohio have received at least their first dose, a figure that hasn’t moved much in the last week and a half.

The slowdown could signal that a majority of people in the 65-plus age group who want a shot have already rolled up their sleeves. It’s also a sign that younger Ohioans took advantage of the state’s expanded vaccine eligibility.

Ohio made the shots available to everyone to everyone 50 and older on March 11 and everyone 40 and older on March 19. Eligibility opened Monday to everyone 16 and up in the state.

Since March 19, people ages 40-59 make up more than half (56 percent) of Ohioans who received their first shot, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health analyzed by 13abc’s Vaccine Tracker. During the same 10-day period, Ohioans ages 65 and above accounted for just 11 percent of first doses.

On March 19, more than 67 percent of Ohioans 65 and older received their first shot. That number hasn’t moved much in the last week and a half and currently is just south of 70 percent. More than half of people ages 60-64 in Ohio are at least partially vaccinated.

But people in their 40s in Ohio, who made up 30 percent of first-dose vaccine recipients in the last 10 days, saw a 45 percent increase in shots administered during that time period.

Now, as vaccine eligibility expands to include every Ohioan 16 and above, health officials hope younger Ohioans will continue to increase their presence at vaccination providers across the state.

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