Summit County Leaders Outline Plans For Phase 1B Of COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Summit County leaders on Wedensday outlined plans for distributing COVID-19 vaccines to the next phase of eligible recipients.

The county at this point expects to receive a total of 5,750 doses for Group 1B, which includes the elderly, those with certain medical conditions and school personnel. Those doses will be distributed by 11 different providers at 36 different sites around the county.

The providers include local hospitals, pharmacies and the Summit County Public Health Department. Each location will get between 100 and 300 doses. Public Health Commissioner Donna Skoda said they’ll start administering them on Jan. 21.

“The pharmacies that are getting it have multiple sites. And they all want appointments, or they’re not gonna do the walk-in. It’s going to be by appointment," Skoda said. "They may reach out to you and call you say ‘Hey, I have a vaccine for you now. Come.’”

Summit County continues to encourage people to sign up for vaccine information at its online registry. The registry collects age information, which Skoda said will allow the Health Department to email information about vaccine availability to populations as the Phase 1B rollout continues.

Skoda and other health care providers urged people to be patient because the supply is limited. She said they will get to everyone, but it will take time.

In the meantime, all the health care leaders urged people to continue masking, washing hands and maintaining distance to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

These are the providers listed on the Summit County Public Health website that will receive the vaccine:

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