CLEVELAND — Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday in his weekly coronavirus news conference that Ohio nursing homes will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines on Friday as part of a federal program.

According to DeWine, the state is among the first in the nation to receive vaccine doses through Walgreen’s, CVS, PharmScript and Absolute Pharmacy.

“Ohio was invited by the CDC to participate in the scaling up of the federal program, and we couldn’t be more excited,” DeWine said.

The governor tweeted Friday morning to say that the vaccines are already being administered in nursing homes across the state.

The vaccines are being administered to nursing home residents and staff members. The four private companies distributing the vaccine will determine where and when it is received.

These are the facilities that will be getting the vaccine on Friday:

Facilities partnering with Absolute Pharmacy
• Altercare of Alliance 11750 Klinger Ave., Alliance
• Altercare of Nobles Pond 7006 Fulton Drive NW, Canton

Facilities partnering with CVS
• Continental Manor 820 E. Center St., Blanchester
• Ohio Veterans Home in Georgetown 2003 Veterans Blvd., Georgetown
• Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky 3416 Columbus Ave., Sandusky

Facilities partnering with PharmScript
• Chardon Healthcare Center 620 Water St., Chardon
• Pleasantview Care Center 7377 Ridge Road, Parma

Facilities partnering with Walgreens
• Crown Pointe Care Center 1850 Crown Park Court, Columbus
• Highbanks Care Center 111 Lazelle Road East, Columbus
• Woodview Care and Rehabilitation 2770 Clime Road, Columbus

Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said he encourages everyone who lives and works in nursing homes to get the vaccine.

“Residents of nursing homes have among the highest risk of dying from COVID-19. So this is an intervention that I really truly believe is going to save lives, and I’d strongly encourage people to consider proceeding,” Vanderhoff said.

According to the COVID-19 Tracking Project, more than half of all COVID-19 deaths in Ohio occur in long-term care facilities.

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