COVID Impact: “Sicker, Quicker”

For the second day in a row, Ohio saw more than 3,000 new COVID cases in a 24-hour period, thanks to the Delta variant. The newly appointed Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, said in a briefing Thursday that the Delta variant was not only forcing up the number of cases, but was also making people “sicker, quicker.” Vanderhoff said coronavirus has become a “vaccine preventable disease” that is striking more people in younger age groups.

“We’re continuing to see a troubling increase of COVID-19 cases statewide,” Vanderhoff said.

Dr. Steven Burdette, Professor at the Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University and specialist in infectious diseases at Premier Health, said the virus is hitting more people who were born in the 1970′s and especially those who are obese. Both Vanderhoff and Burdette said the best way to combat the virus is for more people to be vaccinated.

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The briefing came one day after people picketed outside of the Kettering Health Network headquarters building to protest vaccination requirements for hospital employees. Dr. Burdette said vaccinations for hospital employees is not out of the ordinary.

“It is not new to require a vaccine. Hepatitis-B has been required for health care workers a long time. And for years now we’ve been doing influenza,” Burdette said.

Both Burdette and Vanderhoff addressed reasons why people may not want to get the vaccine. Vanderhoff said the risk of getting sick with the Delta variant is reason enough for people to finally get the vaccine. The new increase in cases in Ohio has caused a slight uptick in vaccinations, with an estimated 60 percent of all Ohio adults now at least partially vaccinated.

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Commenting on the reluctance of hospital employees to get the shot, Burdette did not hold back.

“I’m sick and tired of losing colleagues. OK. I’m tired of having doctors die. I’m tired of respiratory therapists die. I’m tired of seeing nurses die. I’m tired of seeing patient care techs and medical assistants die of COVID,” Burdette said.

State lawmakers have been working on a bill that would prohibit employers from mandating workers to get the vaccine, although the bill does not include hospital employees. The Ohio House Health Committee permitted testimony from a woman who said the vaccines magnetize your body. Video of testimony from the woman attempting to demonstrate her claim by placing a key against her skin went viral. The demonstration failed and her claims were later debunked by a committee member who is a doctor and later by the state department of health.

While that proposal, HB248, has been placed on hold during the General Assembly’s summer recess, it is about to move back into the spotlight. Health Committee Chairman, Rep. Scott Lipps, R- Franklin, has called the committee to return to the Statehouse for a hearing on the bill August 24th.

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