CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati region is closing toward its vaccination goal of 80 percent.
Kate Schroder of the Health Collaborative – along with Greg Kesterman of Hamilton Public Health and Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus – gave the latest regional COVID update during a Zoom meeting on Wednesday morning.
Schroder said the 14-county region was inching toward its goal of an 80-percent vaccination rate for those who can get a shot over the age of 12. The number reflected people who'd had at least one shot of one of the available COVID-19 vaccines.
In the region, 67 percent of eligible people have received one dose of the vaccine. Hamilton County was at 57 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
WATCH: Regional COVID-19 Update
"At one point it seemed very off," Schroder said. "But we are now bearing down on it."
Hamilton County Public Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman said area infection rates are beginning to fall. Two weeks ago, active cases were around 8,900. That's fallen to 8,100. The positive rate in the 14-county area is 9.7 percent.
Cases per day had peaked at 419 on Sept. 16. That number had fallen to 291 cases per day as of Wednesday morning.
Kesterman said a vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds could be available by the end of the month.
Other Notes:
- Hamilton County has recorded 101,567 positive COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the outbreak.
- 1,200 area small businesses have applied for relief from the third round of assistance programs. Driehaus said the number of applicants showed how small businesses continue to struggle during the recovery.
- The Federal Drug Administration could approve a booster shot for the Moderna vaccine by the middle of the month.
- Test kits are still available for free at local library locations.
