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COLUMBIANA -- Staff from three Columbiana County school districts will receive the COVID-19 vaccination this weekend, joining the first wave of school staff across Ohio to do so.
According to the Ohio Department of Education website, Columbiana, East Palestine, and Beaver Local will be the first school districts in the county to receive the vaccine.
Several other county school districts are in line to follow over the next four weeks as part of the K-12 School Staff Vaccination Program through the state.
The local vaccinations are scheduled to take place Saturday at Columbiana High School, and include school districts affiliated with the Mahoning County Educational Service Center.
In addition to Columbiana, East Palestine and Beaver Local, the vaccines will be administered to staff from the Jackson-Milton, South Range, Austintown, West Branch, Sebring and Springfield school districts at that particular location.
Columbiana Superintendent Don Mook said that about 60 percent of the Columbiana staff eligible to receive the vaccination will get the first dosage on Saturday.
Staff will be given the Moderna vaccine and a second dosage will be given to those same participants on March 6 at the Columbiana High School as well, Mook said.
East Palestine Superintendent Chris Neifer said that about 80 percent of East Palestine staff are planning to take advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated.
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has cautioned that due to vaccine shortages anyone who declines the vaccine at their first opportunity may not have another chance to receive the vaccine "for some time."
One requirement for school staff to receive the vaccine is that their school or school district had to notify the Ohio Department of Health of their commitment to return to in-person or hybrid education models by March 1, according to the ODE website.
The ODE has said that there are currently 91,000 school staff statewide eligible to receive the vaccine.