Butler County expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility

Butler County Public Health opened their vaccine clinics up to those 64 and under with underlying heath conditions this week as they near the end of their 1B group vaccinations.

With most of the area's child care providers and first responders inoculated, the county opened their scheduling up to the next priority group on Monday to keep the vaccinations moving.

The county hosted a boost clinic on Tuesday for those still needing their second dose of Moderna vaccine and expects to finish the second dose for the Aplington-Parkersburg school district on Wednesday.

A prime clinic for first doses is tentatively scheduled for Friday, dependent on whether this week's snow storm causes a delay in the shipment.

Butler County is still exclusively receiving the two-dose Moderna vaccine and expects to continue to utilize that vaccine for the immediate future. Public Health Director Jennifer Becker has met with area manufacturers in the event that the county receives an allotment of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

"As soon as we know that Johnson & Johnson is coming then we can set appointments," said Becker.

Becker says that people have called Public Heath asking about the availability of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine however it will be some time before that vaccine becomes available to the general public. The first units of Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be prioritized to manufacturing employees while other eligible recipients continue to receive the two-shot Moderna vaccine at the regular clinics.

As of Monday, March 15, approximately 5,250 doses of vaccine have been administered to Butler County residents, with 2,150 residents completing their vaccine series.

A total of 1,598 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the county, increasing the county total in the last week by just five cases.

In Butler County, 6,792 individuals have been tested at some point during the pandemic, with a total of 26,443 tests performed on Butler County residents overall. In the last 14 days, 1% of total tests have been positive for the virus. The state no longer tracks the number of individuals testing positive or recovered cases, making it difficult to determine how many active cases there are.

One additional COVID-19 related death has been reported from the state, increasing the county total to 32.