T-L Photo/SHELLEY HANSON EAST OHIO Regional Hospital is offering the COVID-19 vaccine to Belmont County first responders who need it today.

MARTINS FERRY — First responders in Belmont County who still need the COVID-19 vaccine can get one today at East Ohio Regional Hospital.

Spokesman Michael Garrison said the vaccine will be given from 8-11 a.m. today in the Skilled Rehab Activity Room. Those responders who cannot attend during that time frame can contact the hospital to make other arrangements.

“We learned from the Belmont County Sheriff’s office that not everyone there had been vaccinated yet and decided to offer our help. We are pleased to support our Belmont County first responders and it is really the least we can do for all they do for our community,” EORH Chief Operating Officer Bernie Albertini said.

Garrison added that the first responders can also receive the second needed dose of the vaccine at EORH.

“All EORH employees who wish to receive the vaccine are in the process of being vaccinated. This is on a voluntary basis,” he noted.

Garrison said the hospital anticipates vaccinating between 75-100 first responders today.

“If unable to attend tomorrow, first responders should contact EORH to arrange for an alternative day for being vaccinated,” he said.

The hospital is not open to the public for business yet, but it is slated to be blessed during a closed ceremony at noon today. That ceremony will be live-streamed on the hospital’s Facebook page for the public to see at https://www.facebook.com/EastOhioRegionalHospital.

Closed in September 2019, along with its sister facility Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, EORH was bought earlier this year by Dr. John Johnson, a Dayton, Ohio-area psychiatrist. Johnson announced plans to reopen the hospital and struck an agreement with the city through which a portion of the income tax revenue collected from EORH employees will be returned to the facility.

Recent reports indicate the hospital could be back in operation this month.