While Ohio is seeing a drop in coronavirus, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff noted different communities are seeing different levels of COVID.
“The rates of COVID-19 as they fall are not evenly distributed,” he said. “This really becomes a matter of informed, thoughtful decision-making for the people involved.”
When considering what protectives measures to take, he encouraged people to consider the COVID activity in their community, if they’re immunocompromised or have an at-risk condition. Some people may look at their individual situation and still wear face masks even if their community has dropped a mask mandate, Vanderhoff explained.
He encouraged people to get vaccinated and receive booster shots if they haven’t already. He noted for elderly people, those living in congregate care facilities, people who are immunocompromised and those with at-risk conditions it is especially important to make sure their vaccination is up to date.
“We certainly hope we have seen the worst COVID-19 has to offer,” he said. “As shown by both the delta and omicron waves, it’s likely another variant may come along. How we are affected by that depends greatly on how we prepare today.”
Gastaldo noted the majority of people hospitalized with COVID are those who are not vaccinated or elderly people who have not kept up with their vaccination.
“Getting a booster shot, especially for those who are elderly or have an at-risk condition is paramount,” he said.
While children are not as severely impacted by coronavirus as adults, they can still face serious illness related to the virus. Associate Medical Director of Women’s and Children’s Infection Control and University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital Dr. Amy Edwards said some children who had asymptomatic cases of COVID develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome weeks later.
Children can also suffer from long haul COVID, she added.
While Ohio is seeing a drop in coronavirus, Vanderhoff noted different communities are seeing different levels of COVID.
“The rates of COVID-19 as they fall are not evenly distributed,” he said. “This really becomes a matter of informed, thoughtful decision-making for the people involved.”
In the last week Ohio’s seen COVID hospitalizations drop to levels that haven’t been reported since August. The state had 1264 patients hospitalized with the virus as of Thursday, according to the Ohio Hospital Association. The last time Ohio had fewer than 1,500 COVID patients in its hospitals was in mid-August.
A month ago, on Jan. 24, the state’s 21-day average was 21,109 coronavirus cases a day, according to ODH. As of Wednesday, the Ohio was averaging 2,307 cases a day over the last 21 days.
The last Ohio National Guard members have left health care facilities after being activated to help hospitals battle staffing shortages during a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
“On Tuesday, exactly two months after their mission began, guard members left the last two facilities they were supporting,” said Vanderhoff said. “It was an incredible effort and had an extraordinarily beneficial impact on hospital operations and we sincerely thank the guard members for their invaluable service.”
More than 2,000 Ohio National Guard members were deployed at 62 facilities and 18 testing centers during the surge of the omicron variant.
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