ATHENS, Ohio — COVID-19 vaccines are now available to Athens County residents, but patient eligibility and vaccine availability varies widely per location.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all adults receive the COVID vaccine this season.
Children ages six months to 17 years who are moderately or severely immunocompromised are also encouraged to get vaccinated, per the federal agency guidelines. Only the Moderna-brand vaccine is federally approved for patients aged six months to four years.
Crystal Jones, director of nursing at the Athens City-County Health Department, told the Independent that all clinically eligible persons six months and older can receive the vaccine there. The department is currently scheduling appointments.
“We are following the [federal] recommendations,” Jones said.
Marcus Thorpe, a public relations consultant for OhioHealth, told the Independent that it would soon make Covid vaccines available.
“Physician offices in Athens County are offering flu shots for patients currently and are expected to have Covid vaccines available for families next week,” Thorpe said in an email Oct. 27.
Both CVS locations on East State Street and Court Street are scheduling patients for the vaccine, following CDC guidelines. The pharmacies note online that some non-immunocompromised children can receive the COVID vaccine “based on shared clinical decision-making.”
Patients scheduling a COVID vaccine online at Shrivers Pharmacy, on West Union Street, must certify that they are 65 or older, or that they are ages 12–64 with “an underlying health condition.”
Matt Dubil, the pharmacy manager at Kroger on East State Street, told the Independent that the grocery store offers COVID vaccines for all clinically eligible adults and children ages 3–12. At Walmart on East State Street, the vaccine is available to anyone 65 and older or ages 6–64, who has an underlying health condition.
Daniel Young, a pharmacist at Hopewell Health Centers Pharmacy, said The Plains location does not currently offer COVID vaccines and he was unsure if it would in the future.
Speaking with the Independent on Oct. 27, an employee at TheDrugStore on East State Street said its COVID vaccine is “out of stock” and was uncertain if it would receive additional shipments. Patients must be ages 13 and older to receive the vaccine at that location.
Holzer did not respond to multiple requests for comment via email, phone and a visit to their urgent care facility on East State Street.
