Many Ohioans are still waiting their turn for a COVID-19 vaccine for their age group and occupation.

WCPO Viewer Kim Taulbee asks: “I'm a grocery store worker and have been working ever since the pandemic started. When will we get vaccinated? Because we have customers coming in sick, getting tested and we don't feel safe. Are we going to have to wait for our age group? I feel we should be next after seniors.”

Dr. Steve Feagins with Hamilton County Public Health and Mercy Health said there simply isn’t guidance yet on when essential workers like Kim can get in line for a vaccine.

“I absolutely feel for Kim. You are totally a frontline worker. We don't have any guidance yet. Those decisions haven't been made in terms of occupation,” he said.

The timeline for when guidance opens up for other essential workers could come as soon as vaccine supply meets demand.

“That would be the expectation. When we are finally able to match supply and demand and open it up, even with new potential vaccines on the horizon, we simply don't know the numbers. We take what we have and apply to risk stratification we have and open it up when we can. But I absolutely understand because that is a frontline job."

That "risk stratification” means vaccinating those most at risk first. For now, that includes nursing home residents, frontline medical workers and older Ohioans.

Find more information on Ohio’s vaccine rollout here.

This month, WCPO 9 is taking your questions about COVID-19 vaccines and posing them to local health care experts. Email newsdesk@wcpo.com or message @KristynHartmanWCPO on Facebook with your name, neighborhood and question, and you could see an expert answer it on air.

Dozens of vaccination sites across the Tri-State now offer COVID-19 shots to eligible people. With many sites located in hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets, convention centers and arenas, could that system leave out the homebound?

WCPO viewer Patricia Keller asked how her mother, who is 95 and homebound, and other seniors could still receive their shots.

Dr. Steve Feagins, chief clinical officer at Mercy Health and medical director of Hamilton County Public Health, said leaders are working to get vaccines to those stuck inside.

“We know there are about 26,000 (Ohio) residents who have home health,” he said.

Ohio could model other states that have paramedicine, he said, where EMTs give doses and are legally able to go to people's homes. Feagins said some local fire chiefs have supported the idea.

Meanwhile, Ohio’s Council On Aging and United Way 211 offer transportation to seniors who can’t drive themselves to vaccine clinics.

While the main focus right now is to take people to the vaccine, he also said leaders are working on a plan with home health agencies to bring vaccines to those homebound.

“But we are definitely working to get a process to get vaccine to people's homes,” Feagins said.

This month, WCPO 9 is taking your questions about COVID-19 vaccines and posing them to local health care experts. Email newsdesk@wcpo.com or message @KristynHartmanWCPO on Facebook with your name, neighborhood and question, and you could see an expert answer it on air.

Why aren’t certain risk groups higher up on Ohio’s phased vaccination timeline?

One viewer wrote to WCPO asking: “Early versions of Governor Dewine's plan included persons who were immuno-compromised or taking immuno-suppressant meds in Stage 1B. Subsequently, they fell off the list and we have been unable to ascertain why or when they'll be eligible. This group is truly in need of upgraded info regarding their turn in line.”

Dr. Steve Feagins, chief clinical officer of Mercy Health and medical director for Hamilton County Public Health, agrees.

“We've been in talks with the Ohio Department of Health and the governor as well," he said. "It's hard to make these kinds of decisions...and I don't disagree that patients who have cancers or chemo -- individuals who are immune compromised -- should be getting vaccines."

Feagins said they take guidance from the governor’s office in terms of who is eligible to receive vaccines.

“However, we continue to talk,” he said. “Some 150 to 160 oncology providers wrote about cancer. I understand we've had about 1,300 different groups write about eligibility of vaccine. It's a tough time to make that decision.”

So did anybody fall off the eligibility list?

“In terms of falling off -- you could look at it that way. NIH had various lists as they were working to try and risk strategize. Go with age, most critical risk factor and congenital illnesses for risk stratification,” Feagins said.

This month, WCPO 9 is taking your questions about COVID-19 vaccines and posing them to local health care experts. Email newsdesk@wcpo.com or message @KristynHartmanWCPO on Facebook with your name, neighborhood and question, and you could see an expert answer it on air.