DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio — Right now more than 49% of the state has received at least one shot and nearly 46% are fully vaccinated.
Delaware County has the highest vaccination rate in the entire state of Ohio at more than 63%. We also visited the lowest vaccinated county in Central Ohio.
Delaware County’s high vaccination rate has led to below-average case numbers. Across the state of Ohio is just over 45 per 100,000 but the number of cases per 100,000 in Delaware County is three.
“Everyone has asked us this question and we love to say it's something that we've done but I think you really have to look at the demographics of the community to understand,” said Shelia Hiddleson, Health Commissioner for Delaware County.
Hiddleson says the key is access; if you look at Delaware County's latest community health assessment from 2018, 86% of residents had at least one health care provider.
“They have access to a provider or when it was first rolled out this December, you had to drive to places to get the vaccine they had the ability to do that,” said Hiddleson.