Residents 18+ qualify for vaccination clinic

CELINA - Mercer County residents age 18 and older can get vaccinated by Mercer County Health District officials at a drive-thru vaccination clinic this Wednesday, according to a news release Thursday.

The clinic will be held from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina. The Moderna vaccine will be administered.

Online registration opens Saturday at 8 a.m. at https://tinyurl.com/5xfpranz.

Appointments also can be made by calling 567-890-2619 from noon-3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

Each person who schedules an appointment is encouraged to complete the vaccine registration form before visiting the clinic, which can be found at https://mchdohio.org/CovidForm.

Forms also are available in the hallway outside the entrance of the health district office in the Mercer County Central Services Building in Celina. The forms are required for both first and second doses.

Mercer County's standing on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System improved Thursday, moving from Level 2 to Level 1. This was due to a decrease in the county's two-week new case incidence rate to 36 cases per 100,000 people, according to a news release,

Officials asked the public to be responsible with their plans during the upcoming Easter holiday weekend.

"It's important to take routine precautions to prevent a significant resurgence of COVID-19 activity in our area," the release reads. "Masking and distancing are still recommended, and vulnerable individuals should carefully consider whether or not to attend gatherings."

In addition, Mercer County officials reported five new COVID-19 cases in the county, raising the cumulative case count to 3,939. Officials also reported one active hospitalization, a cumulative 738 probable cases, 3,803 people who had recovered, 84 deaths and 19 probable deaths. Of the overall cases, 16 are active, according to the release.

Data from the news release also showed 52 COVID-19 cases were reported in March - the fewest in one month since last June when 56 cases were reported.

Also on Thursday, Mercer Health officials in a separate news release announced COVID-19 vaccination registration is available via Mercer Health's MyChart, a health management portal that connects users to health providers and electronic medical records. Individuals age 16 and older are eligible for vaccination. With parental or a legal guardian's consent, those ages 16 and 17 are eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in people under the age of 18.

To sign up for an appointment on MyChart, select "appointments," then "schedule an appointment" and select the "COVID vaccination - Mercer Health" option.

Individuals who register through MyChart only need to schedule their first dose and Mercer Health officials will schedule the second dose. To sign up for MyChart, go to mychart.osu.edu/mercerhealth. Phone registration is also available from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. each weekday by calling 567-890-7188.

Clinics at college campuses, workplaces

Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday announced the state will begin working with local colleges and universities to offer vaccination clinics on campuses across the state. The goal is to offer the clinics to all Ohio college students before the school year ends in May.

Clinics will start next week on several campuses offering the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to a DeWine news release.

DeWine also announced Ohio will begin working with employers and other organizations to offer workplace vaccination clinics throughout Ohio.

Beginning the week of April 12, vaccine providers can allot up to 25% of their vaccine allocation to be used to vaccinate their own employees or to partner with local employers, labor unions and other organizations to vaccinate their employees at their work locations.

The release also noted Ohio's two-week case rate has risen to 167.1 cases per 100,000 people. For the past two Thursdays, the statewide average was just under 150 cases per 100,000 people.

According to Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer at the Ohio Department of Health, variant activity continues to rise, closely mirroring what is occurring in the rest of the nation. Michigan is experiencing an increase in cases that is more than 3.5 times than that of Ohio's.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this increase appears to be driven largely by COVID-19 variants. Most of Ohio's rising case numbers and variant cases are happening along the border with Michigan, according to the release.

The increase in cases demonstrates the necessity that Ohioans choose to be vaccinated. As of Thursday, nearly 30% of Ohioans have received at least one dose of vaccine, DeWine's office said.

The Auglaize County Health Department did not provide a COVID-19 update by press time. Earlier this week, officials announced a reduction in updates from every weekday to only Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Mercer County Health District also provides updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

As of Thursday night, ODH reported a cumulative 1,020,041 confirmed and probable cases, 53,169 hospitalizations and 18,609 Ohio resident deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

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