As new COVID-19 cases continue to be reported across the Ohio Valley, the Brooke and Hancock county health departments have begun vaccinations of people 80 and older while the Hancock board of health also has moved to temporarily ban smoking in all public places.

Mike Bolen, administrator of the Brooke County Health Department, said he’d received little notice that 100 doses of Moderna would be distributed to each of the state’s 48 local health departments for administration to that age group.

But Bolen said following a posting on the department’s website and Facebook page, appointments for the voluntary vaccination were filled quickly.

He said Thursday he didn’t know when more vaccine will be available but residents should watch for future postings on Facebook and at www.brookecountyhealthdepartment.com/news.

“We’re hopeful they’ll give us X amount of doses every week so we can address any others in that age group and the rest of the population in the near future,” said Bolen.

The Hancock County Health Department also had announced the vaccines’ availability through its Facebook page, adding a short time later appointments for them had been filled.

Bolen said the Brooke County department also has been administering doses of the vaccine produced by Pfizer to local first responders.

State health officials had announced the first wave of vaccinations would be available to certain hospital personnel, staff and residents at long-term care facilities, pharmacy and dental care personnel, first responders and members of the National Guard.

The latter has been assisting health departments with COVID-19 testing and other tasks.

Bolen said the vaccine is being distributed to many of those entities directly, with vaccine for assisted living facilities provided through a state contract with Walgreens and CVS.

At a special meeting Wednesday, the Hancock County board of health agreed to extend its ban on smoking in public places to include casinos and gaming facilities.

The ban will be effective at 5 p.m. Saturday and remain in effect until further notice, according to the order.

Hancock County health officials have cited concerns about spread of the virus through the air breathed by patrons who are unmasked while smoking.

Asked whether the Brooke County health board might consider such a ban, Bolen said, “We don’t have that on our radar and I don’t see it being on our radar any time soon.”

The Brooke and Hancock departments were among local health departments in the state that had banned smoking at all public places but later removed casinos from the ban following complaints it had negatively impacted them.

Both Brooke and Hancock counties have been categorized as red for their high infection rates and percentage of positive cases based on their populations.

The state Department of Health and Human Resources on Thursday reported 1,405 cases among 21,939 people in Brooke County and 1,837 cases among 28,810 people in Hancock County.

Brooke County officials have reported 24 local deaths linked to the coronavirus since March, while Hancock County officials have reported 28 deaths there.

Officials with the Jefferson County Health Department have reported 916 active cases among 65,325 people there and 53 deaths since March. They noted that this week the rate of occurrence for the county has shifted from second in the state to 18th, a trend they hope will continue.

Bolen said in recent weeks the Brooke County department has seen 20 to 30 new cases per day and has been working many hours to trace and notify people with whom they had contact.

Public officials are among the many who have been affected by the virus.

Tim Ennis, president of the Brooke County Commission, confirmed he has tested positive for COVID-19, leading to last week’s commission meeting being canceled while he self-isolated.

Ennis said he is recovering from the virus and expects to participate in next week’s meeting by phone.

Moved to 10:30 a.m. Monday earlier because of a scheduling conflict, it will involve reorganizing for the 2021 year.