2nd round of vaccinations begins: ‘I decided it was best if I wanted to live here a little longer’

Ohioans 80 and older are the first eligible for the vaccine under the state’s plan. Next Monday, more people will become eligible.

Vaccine recipients at a Premier Health clinic Tuesday morning were grateful to be among the approximately 100,000 Ohioans who managed to get an appointment this week. Last week, Dayton-area providers were booked within hours of opening scheduling.

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Shirley Porter, 84, of Dayton, is “scared to death” by needles, but her daughters, one of whom is a doctor, convinced her to get this important shot.

“It was wonderful … I was afraid I was going to be jumpy and I didn’t move,” she said. “I have two daughters, and they’d threaten me if I didn’t (get the shot) … I decided it was best if I wanted to live here a little longer.”

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

It’s been a difficult year for Porter and her husband, who also will get vaccinated this week, to be isolated from friends and family. Even after getting this shot, they will need to remain isolated for a while longer.

Both available coronavirus vaccines are about 95% effective, according to their manufacturers, meaning some recipients still contracted COVID-19 during clinical trials. Immunity also isn’t fully built up until a few weeks after receiving the second dose three or four weeks after the first dose.

Experts estimate as many as 70% of Americans could need to get the vaccine for the country to reach herd immunity. Until herd immunity is reached, even those who have been vaccinated should continue wearing masks, social distancing and following other safety protocols because a chance exists they can spread the virus.

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Two area residents received the vaccine at Kettering Health Network’s Jamestown Health Center live during the governor’s afternoon news conference on Tuesday. Iola Creamer, who celebrated her 101st birthday in October, said she felt the vaccine, but it didn’t hurt. Alfred McDaniel, who is 98, said he “felt just a ting.”

“We are so excited for this day,” said Dr. Kevin Sharrett of Kettering Health. “(This is) the first day that we can begin this offensive fight against this virus that has just changed our lives.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, about 460,000 Ohioans, or 3.9% of the state’s population, had received their first vaccine dose, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Odessa Johnson, 80, of Dayton, attended the Premier clinic on Tuesday. She is scared of getting COVID-19 and has been isolating from friends and family throughout the pandemic.

“I was so really excited, exuberant and just feel blessed,” to get vaccinated, she said.

Johnson said she wants to protect herself, as well as her neighbors. To Americans who have indicated they won’t get the vaccine, Johnson said, “Think of your family and other people.”

Rosa Lee Weinert, 92, a Dayton resident and the executive director of the Ohio Board of Nursing from 1981 to 1996, was another vaccine recipient Tuesday at the Premier clinic.

“As a nurse, I can’t impress (upon) people enough to get this vaccine,” she said. “It really upsets me when a relative or a friend say they’re not going to get the vaccine because it was done so fast and all this kind of stuff … and I talk an arm and leg off of them trying to get them to see my way … At least I have gotten mine. I’ll show them my Band-Aid.”

Currently, demand far outstrips supply. Providers like Premier are waiting to find out how many doses they will receive each week before scheduling more appointments.

Dr. Roberto Colon, chief medical officer at Miami Valley Hospital, said he hopes the community is patient as everyone works to get the vaccine out quickly.