CLEVELAND, Ohio - As daunting as it might be in a state of more than 11 million people, especially with the slow start to coronavirus vaccinations that just hit 248,000 for Ohio on Friday, targeting the most vulnerable for the first vaccines could make a big difference before the end of the winter.
This is the case not only for the potentially most at risk based on their age or other health conditions, but also those whose jobs require them to deal with the public face to face.
Consider this.
The 80-plus age group is just a sliver of Ohio’s population -- about 4%, or 485,000 in total. Yet more than half of the nearly 10,000 known COVID-19 deaths to date have been to this age group.
Reach this relatively small group with vaccines and deaths could shrink dramatically.
Thus it’s no accident that after health care workers and nursing home patients, other older Ohioans will be among the first who will be permitted to sign up for vaccines. This is promised to start Jan. 25 for those age 75 and older, and one week later for Ohioans age 70 and up.
An estimated 1.4 million Ohioans are at least 70 years old. They account for 12% of all Ohioans, but a whopping 79% of the COVID-19 deaths and 46% of the hospitalizations so far.
In other words, by reaching this 12% segment of the state (two vaccines about a month apart are required), a tremendous number of the most serious cases could be eliminated. On some days, more than 20,000 shots have been administered in Ohio. That number is expected to increase.
A week after the 70-and-older group can start getting the vaccine, the process is to open for those 65 and older.
There likely won’t be enough vaccines to get everyone started quickly in each age group, but keep in mind, many people are opting out. This has been the case for about 60% of the nursing home workers, according to Gov. Mike DeWine.
Yet vaccinating a targeted slice, or slices, of Ohio’s 8.1 million adults can go a long way toward eliminating a lot of the worst cases. Same goes for controlling the spread among people whose jobs require face-to-face work with the public.
Just how large are some of these groups? Here are some other examples, based on estimates from state records, trade groups, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Long-term care facilities/nursing homes
At least 5,059 long-term care facility patients in Ohio have died of COVID-19, according to the Ohio Department of Health. This is why these people are a priority - a small group of people where a big difference could be made.
By Monday, 45,426 doses were administered at the facilities, the health department’s spokeswoman said, though she said the health department does not know the total number of patients and staff at the facilities across the state who need to be reached.
Based on estimates from the Ohio Health Care Association and Leading Age Ohio, two groups that represent most of the centers, there are roughly 70,000 patients at skilled-nursing facilities, 30,000 to 50,000 at assisted-living facilities and 5,000 at intermediate care centers for people with intellectual and development disabilities. Combined, theses places have about 170,000 staff.
School workers
Gov. DeWine said vaccinations for K-12 school employees will begin the week of Feb. 1, as part of his goal to reopen schools to more students as soon as possible.
About 300,000 people work at public and private schools across Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Education, which handles licensing for primary education.
This includes not only the more than 100,000 teachers, but also other staff, many of whom have direct contact with students, and licensed substitutes. Some districts had difficulty remaining open in the fall because of a lack of available substitute teachers.
Additionally, there are about 34,000 full- and part-time faculty at Ohio’s public colleges and universities, and another 14,000 at the private institutions. Together, these are about 50,000 people whose jobs often involve close contact with many young adults.
Police, fire and paramedics
Few jobs require more close contact in unpredictable surroundings than the work paramedics. There are 43,000 licensed medical responders in Ohio, including 19,000 paramedics and 20,000 emergency medical technicians.
Add to the list of first-responders Ohio’s 40,000 firefighters, including 10,000 volunteers. Plus there are 25,000 licensed police officers in Ohio.
This means that about 108,000 vaccinations (200,000 shots, counting the second shots) could cover Ohio’s police, firefighters and paramedics. As with the jobs listed for education and in other groups detailed here, some individuals may be licensed in more than one area.
Medical workers
Ohio’s hospitals employ 260,000 people, including those in administrative jobs, according to the Ohio Hospital Association.
But that just begins to scratch the surface for the the medical field in Ohio. Licensing information maintained by the various state licensing boards help provide a more complete picture for certain medical jobs. There are about:
* 300,000 nurses.
* 51,000 doctors, counting 44,000 MDs and 7,000 osteopathic physicians.
* 38,000 holders of dental board licenses, including 7,000 dentists, 8,000 dental hygienists and 17,000 dental assistants.
Hair care
Closed early during the coronavirus crisis were barbershops and hair saloons, although they have since reopened.
Licensing records show there are 8,400 barbers statewide, and 85,000 cosmetologists, advanced cosmetologists and independent contractors licensed.
Bars and restaurants
The bar and restaurant industry has been particularly hard hit during the pandemic, sharply reducing employment. But before the crisis, there were nearly a half-million workers.
According to the Ohio Restaurant Association, there had been 22,547 eating and drinking establishments with 451,300 employees in the state. This represented 77% of Ohio’s total restaurant and food service workforce of an estimated 585,000.
Medical conditions
Larger are the groups with medical conditions identified as being of special concern for the coronavirus. For example, an estimated 38% of Ohioans are considered obese, 11% have diabetes, and 5% are living with coronary heart disease.
Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See other data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.
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