Michigan residents who live on the border with Ohio and work in Lucas County have two options to get their coronavirus vaccine.
They can schedule an appointment in their home state, which has opened vaccinations to those 65 and older, or they can wait for their age group to be eligible in Ohio and receive the vaccine here. Ohio will begin vaccinating residents 80 and older Monday and continue dropping the age limit by five years each week.
Michigan is also currently vaccinating its frontline essential workers, such as firefighters, police officers, and corrections workers, child-care and K-12 school employees, and congregate care facility staff and residents.
“Although there are no residency policies requiring Michiganders to receive vaccination from their local health department of residence, it is preferred that they do so to assist with planning,” Lynn Sutfin, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said. “This would be the same for individuals who live in other states.”
Meanwhile, Ohio is preparing to begin vaccinating its 80 and older population next week, and appointment opportunities are opening up.
There are still 1,867 appointment slots still to be filled in Lucas County, largely at Mercy Health and McLaren St. Luke’s facilities, and additional times at ProMedica and twelve area Kroger facilities will be added soon, Eric Zgodzinski, health commissioner with the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department said Friday.
“Just be patient, we’re going to get you through,” he urged the community in a video call, addressing frustration over the long wait times and technical difficulties some have experienced in trying to make their appointments.
Lucas County residents can schedule their shot three ways:
- By visiting lucascountyhealth.com/covidvaccine and following the directions under the “Vaccine Scheduling for 80+” tab. Providers are listed by location with links or phone numbers for how to make an appointment. No hospitals are taking direct calls for appointments.
- Only those seeking the vaccine at the Rams Health Center or Riverside Community Health Center should call the facilities directly to schedule an appointment. They can be reached at 419-442-7702 and 567-318-3900, respectively.
- Those getting vaccinated through Kroger can sign up through the store’s portal at www.kroger.com/i/coronavirus-update/pharmacy or by calling 866-211-5320.
Once the appointment is made, individuals will receive a confirmation email with the date and time of their appointment and further instructions from the site. Each person is asked to bring a form of identification and their insurance card, if they have it.
Some providers may bill medical insurance but insurance is not required. There is no cost to get the vaccine.
Mr. Zgodzinski called on the community to be vigilant about scammers who may try to use vaccination as a way to get personal information.
“Nobody should be calling you for something missing, like your date of birth or social security number,” he said.
Wood County residents can schedule their appointments by visiting the health department’s website to find a list of providers with doses available and how to contact them or by registering through the ArmorVax app. Those have difficulty inputting Medicare information can also call the department at 419-352-8402.
The department called on residents who are younger than 80 to wait until their phase is opened up to schedule appointments. “Any appointment scheduled for someone who is not eligible will be canceled,” the department said on Twitter.
All available coronavirus vaccine appointments next week have been filled for Wood County Health Department and Mercy Health — Perrysburg Hospital, the department said.
Our phone system is experiencing an extremely high call volume. Because all available appointments have been filled, we will not be able to return phone messages left seeking appointments. If you leave us a message with other questions, we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
— Wood County Health Department (@WCHDOhio) January 15, 2021
For additional assistance with scheduling, contact the Lucas County Area Office on Aging at 419-382-0624, or United Way 211. The Toledo Library is also making its computers available by appointment to those who want to schedule online.
Anyone who pre-registered for the vaccine in Ohio still needs to make an appointment through one of the options above, Mr. Zgodzinski stressed.
Michigan has chosen Meijer as its initial pharmacy partner to administer the vaccine, as the store has 120 pharmacy locations throughout the state.
To make an appointment with the retailer, Michiganders can text COVID to the number 75049 to receive a link to register. They can also visit clinic.meijer.com/ to sign up online.
As doses arrive, those who registered will be contacted with a date for their vaccine, Meijer said. If residents can’t make that date, they can decline it and they will receive a new date when more doses become available. If they’ve changed their mind or already received a vaccine elsewhere they can opt out of the process.
Meijer said it will begin its inoculations at stores in Wayne County, starting Monday. Specific store locations have not been announced.
Each Michigan county’s health department will also be arranging appointments. To find out if your county has vaccine to distribute, visit michigan.gov/coronavirus/.
Monroe County residents can visit their health department’s website starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday to schedule their vaccine appointment for that Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Those who split their time between states also seem to have the option to get their vaccine at either home.
Snowbirds, for example, who own homes in Ohio and Florida and reside there part-time, may get the vaccine in either state. Florida has opened vaccination to people age 65 and older and does not require residency.
Ohio on Friday reported 7,149 new coronavirus cases, which is below the 21-day average of 7,657. The drop in daily cases comes a day after the state exceeded 800,000 total cases.
It also reported 67 new deaths, which is below the 21-day average of 76. In all, 10,057 deaths have been attributed to the virus.
Lucas County, Friday, reported 461 new coronavirus infections since Wednesday and 13 new deaths, bringing its totals to 29,259 cases and 67 deaths.
Wood County reported 95 new cases and 1 new death Friday, for a total of 9,849 cases and 154 deaths.
First Published January 15, 2021, 10:06 p.m.
