MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine made a series of stops at COVID-19 vaccination sites across Ohio Saturday.
The governor ended the day with a visit to the Union County Fairgrounds COVID-19 vaccine drive-through in Marysville.
The commissioner of the vaccine site says they are able to vaccinate 160 people every hour or 640 people in a four-hour clinic, which is what they schedule for.
The governor said the state started with 700 vaccination sites and now we are up to 1,250 with bigger sites on the way.
Right now, Ohioans 50 years and older are eligible to get the vaccine, but DeWine said he believes those 40 years and older will be eligible soon.
"The consensus, at least today, from the four counties we've been in, is they are about ready for us to move forward and open it up to 40-year-olds," DeWine said.
He also said the state will also likely add certain medical conditions, but that is to be determined.
When it comes to lifting the state health orders, Ohio inched closer to meeting DeWine's goal of 50 cases per 100,000 Ohioans on Thursday.
As of March 11, the state has 155 cases per 100,000 Ohioans.
DeWine said if we continue at our current rate, he anticipates the state could reach that goal in about seven weeks.
Despite the optimism, DeWine said he is concerned about different variants of COVID-19 in Ohio.
"I worry about people who have not been vaccinated, so if it's your turn to get vaccinated, please take that opportunity," DeWine said. "We are doing everything we can to open this up for everybody in the state."
DeWine has toured many vaccine sites across the state recently, including the Schottenstein Center at Ohio State on Tuesday.
This week, DeWine announced a state-sponsored vaccination site at St. John Arena at Ohio State opening on March 18.
More than two million Ohioans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he is requiring all states to have all adults eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by May 1. DeWine's office said the state is on track to meet that milestone before that date.