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CLEVELAND, Ohio – While the rate of COVID-19 cases is still high in Ohio, early indicators show cases are peaking and starting to decline, said the director of the Ohio Department of Health , Dr Bruce Vanderhoff, at a press conference Monday.
The Ohio Hospital Association reports that one in six hospital patients in Ohio are positive for COVID-19 and one in four patients in intensive care is battling COVID-19, he said.
“While our COVID-19 cases remain extremely high, it’s clear that our collective efforts are really paying off,” Vanderfhoff said.
The seven-day average for new cases, as reported by cleveland.com last week, started to decline in mid-September. New cases reported averaged 5,676 per day for the seven days ending Sunday, down 22% from 7,268 as of Sept. 16.
The Ohio Department of Health will soon include additional information on hospitalizations and COVID-19 cases on its public data dashboards. Vanderhoff described the upcoming changes to the ODH COVID-10 dashboard:
Additional doses: A new drop-down tab will display the number of Ohioans who have received additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
Extended age groups: The age groups under the vaccination tab will be widened. Now, data on vaccination rates, at the county and state levels, will be disaggregated for 12-17 years old, 18-19 years old, 30-59 years old, 60-79 years old and 80 years and over .
Reinfection case: The case definition for COVID-19 has been expanded to include people re-infected 90 days or more after a previous infection. The ODH will begin counting all Ohio residents re-infected with COVID-19 as of September 1 as a new case, Vanderhoff said. This change will be reflected on the ODH dashboards.
“These new infections were not counted on the scorecard because they did not meet the case definition standard,” Vanderhoff said.
People re-infected before September 1 will not be counted, he said. Re-infections after September 1 will not be separated from other cases on the dashboard.
“It is important to note that emerging information shows that those who have not been vaccinated are in fact more than twice as likely to be re-infected as those who are fully vaccinated,” said Vanderhoff.
Here are some other topics covered in today’s briefing:
Vax-2-School vaccine lottery
The Ohio Vax-2-School Vaccine Lottery website launched on Monday. Parents and adults between the ages of 12 and 25 can register at ohiovax2school.com to participate and win scholarships in the state’s latest coronavirus vaccine lottery.
A total of 155 scholarships will be awarded – five vaccinated students will receive $ 100,000 in scholarships and 150 vaccinated students will receive $ 10,000 in scholarships. Winners will receive money into a 529 Education Savings Account that they can use at Ohio colleges, universities, technical trade schools, or career programs.
The money the state is spending on the incentive program is less than the cost of healthcare for many hospitalized and intensive care Ohioans, Vanderhoff said.
“Incentive programs appear to have a distinct ability to get people off the sidelines and get them into the immunization line,” he said. “If we can protect even a relatively small number of additional young people with this vaccine, we will have had great success. “
Pregnant women and vaccination
Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health notice urging pregnant women to vaccinate against COVID-19, Vanderhoff said. The highest number of COVID-19-related deaths among pregnant patients in a single month of the pandemic was reported in August, with 22 deaths across the country.
Doctors see increased risk of preterm labor in patients with COVID-19, and preterm labor can lead to increased NICU admissions and infant mortality, said Dr. Kamilah Dixon-Shambley, assistant professor from OB-GYN at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She spoke at the ODH press conference on Monday.
Pregnant women who contract COVID-19 are also at increased risk of serious illness, Dixon-Shambley said.
Studies show that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe for women, fetuses and infants, and does not affect fertility. Immunized women begin to produce antibodies and pass protection to their unborn babies, Dixon-Shambley said.
Replacement vaccination cards
If you lose your vaccination card, there are several ways to access your vaccination records, Vanderhoff said. Call the provider who administered the vaccine or your local health department.
You can also send a request to the Ohio Department of Health to request your immunization records; go to coronavirus.ohio.gov for instructions.
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