CEDARVILLE, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine shared some good news Thursday on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio.

DeWine said the state is also expecting to receive a higher number of vaccine doses as the task of inoculating older Ohioans continues.

“We’ve talked a lot about how we really do not have enough vaccine. We know a lot more people want the vaccine every day than we have,” he said. “I talked with the team of Pfizer (BioNTech). They really gave us good news. They will be able to up the amount of vaccine that is available for federal shipment by about 40 percent somewhere in the middle of February. Not far off. We think that should mean our numbers will increase.”

He said he hoped to see shipment amounts double soon, and then double again by the end of March.

Currently 73,000 doses are shipped to Ohio weekly.

DeWine added that the Moderna version of the vaccine also is increasing from 73,200 to 105,600 expected next week.

He could give no timetable for when the vaccine might be available to the general public.

“I know there is frustration when people can’t get vaccines. We’ve always felt they will expand as we go forward,” he said.

This will be welcome news for Belmont County Deputy Health Director Robert Sproul, who’s office was unable to administer 130 doses during Wednesday’s vaccination day. Numerous people ages 70 and older failed to report for their vaccinations, since they had already arranged to be vaccinated elsewhere.

Sproul said the remaining doses may be added to next week’s vaccination day, when Ohioans eligible for the vaccine will expand to include those 65 and older.

To register, visit the health department’s website at belmontcountyhealth.com. Belmont County residents who registered with the department but have arranged to receive a vaccine elsewhere are asked to notify the health department so they can be removed from the list of people to be contacted and scheduled for next week. The health department number is 740-695-1202.

In other matters during DeWine’s talk on the Ohio Channel, he emphasized the importance of vaccine providers collecting data on the race of people who received a vaccination.

“Race data is being underreported,” he said, adding 13.2 percent of vaccine records list race as “unknown.”

“Each provider is responsible for entering race into the state system, and it’s really important,” he said. “From the geographical point of view, from the racial point of view, from the point of view of poverty … all these things we’re looking at because what we’re striving for is equity and fairness as this vaccine goes out.”

Sproul said his department is scrupulous about including this data.

Also, DeWine addressed the statewide curfew, moved from a start time of 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. last week. He said the number of people hospitalized with the virus is now 2,252. If the number of hospitalized remains less than 2,500 DeWine said the curfew will be lifted next Thursday.

“We don’t know what’s coming. What goes down can come up. We hope it doesn’t, but this virus has taught us it has a mind of its own and we don’t know what it’s going to do next, but for today certainly very, very good news.”

DeWine said the priority has been seeing that front-line health care workers are not overwhelmed with hospital patients.

Locally, Sproul reported there have been 5,050 total cases in Belmont County since the pandemic’s onset, with 618 people in isolation with active cases. Sproul said there have been 4,285 recoveries, 56 people are hospitalized, and 91 people have died after contracting the virus.