COLUMBUS — Newly-promoted Ohio Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff and the Ohio Department of Health held a news conference Thursday morning to give updates on COVID-19 in the state.
>> What you need to know: COVID-19 and the delta variant in Miami Valley
Vanderhoff was joined by Wright State’s Chief of Infectious Disease Dr. Steven Burdette for the briefing.
>>Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff promoted to Ohio Health Director
Thursday’s news conference comes as Ohio reported nearly 3,400 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the highest one-day increase in weeks. Over the past few weeks, the state has seen a steady climb in the positivity rate, with the rate now at 7.1 percent, according to Wednesday’s data.
The positivity rate had been as low at 1.3 percent in early July, according to ODH data.
The following announcements were made:
- While Ohio has enough hospital beds for patients right now, other states are turning down elective procedures. Ohio doesn’t want to have the same problem.
- Hospitalizations are mostly from the Delta variant, which has now dominated Ohio. It can be safely assumed any case in Ohio is almost certainly from the Delta variant, Dr. Vanderhoff said.
- The Delta variant is much more contagious and appears to be much more dangerous than previous variants. It makes patients sicker, quicker.
- Ohio has seen a recent upward trend of people starting their vaccination process each day. Ten thousand Ohioans are starting the vaccination process each day, and another five thousand are finishing each day.
- More than 50 percent of all Ohioans and more than 60 percent of all adults have started vaccination process.
- For those concerned about side effects, Dr. Vanderhoff said to remember that no medicine is without risks of side effects, including the COVID-19 vaccine. For the most part, side effects seem to be mild and short in duration.
- Dr. Vanderhoff said the long term effects of COVID-19 are much more serious than side effects of the vaccine, like death. For some COVID survivors, patients report lasting symptoms for months after they test positive, including tiredness, fatigue and shortness of breath.
- In regards to people who question the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Vanderhoff said it wasn’t corners that were cut in getting the vaccines out quickly, but red tape. All the normal safety steps were taken that have been taken with previous vaccines. More than 352 million vaccine doses have been administered in the United States, showing extreme reactions are incredibly rare.
- Wright State’s Chief of Infectious Disease Dr. Steven Burdette said most of his patients are unvaccinated. Of the rare vaccinated patient they do see, they have “minimally to no symptoms and are doing very well and stable from a COVID standpoint.” The COVID intensive care unit is full of unvaccinated patients, he said. The COVID unit is seeing mostly younger people born in the 70s, 80s and 90s, and only the rare nursing home patient. “It’s very different from what we were seeing before,” he said. Burdette said the one risk factor he continuously sees is obesity. “If you are an unvaccinated, overweight, young person, you have a chance of having a complicated course and a bad outcome,” he said.
©2021 Cox Media Group
