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BY: JAKE ZUCKERMAN
Amid a wave of COVID-19 in Ohio’s most populous county, health officials again wanted to demand the use of face masks indoors to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Unlike July 2020, however, this time they hit a wall. State law that came into effect earlier this summer prohibits health services from issuing general health warrants to people who have not been diagnosed with illness.
So despite a 56% increase in the average daily case rate in the county, which officials attribute to the hyper-transmissible delta variant flooding the state with new cases, the health department says it can do little. more than issuing a “mask notice” which is not supported by any force of law.
“This is an opinion. It is not an order and it is not a warrant, ”Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts said at a press conference. “The reason this is not an order or a warrant is because of the State Senate Bill 22, which prohibits us from taking an order that would be a general order for the entire population. “
This marks one of the first tangible effects of the legislation, which critics have called a naked attack on public health, to come during an ongoing and worsening pandemic.
Republicans passed SB 22 without any Democratic backing. They even overruled their fellow Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s veto to do so. Ohio was one of eight states in May 2021 to pass legislation to limit public health authority during the pandemic, according to a review by the Network for Public Health Law. The sponsors of the bill did not respond to inquiries.
However, this is not the only example of emerging schisms between orientations and public health policies.
Columbus Public Health issued guidelines last week recommending that schools, some of which admit children 11 and under who are not eligible for vaccination, to require all students to wear face masks. However, school districts and universities have been divided on the issue, and health officials have said they hope districts that have become mask-optional will reconsider their decision.
“There is nothing wrong with wearing a mask,” said Dr Rustin Morse, chief medical officer of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, who appeared alongside health officials on Thursday. “That’s what makes it so hard to reconcile in my head: I know people have opinions, I know it’s been politicized, but there’s nothing wrong with wearing a mask. There is only upside potential for our students and teachers.
Three vaccines are available for use as safe and effective preventive measures against COVID-19, although they are only available for ages 12 and older.
Despite their availability in the past seven months, less than half of the state is vaccinated against COVID-19. Franklin County Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola said that figure is slightly better in Franklin County at 55% but still far from widespread enough to completely quash the virus.
Dr Veena Satyapriya, a physician at OSU Wexner Medical Center, shared a warning about the implications of omitting the vaccination. She said that one of her healthy 28-year-old patients skipped the vaccination, contracted COVID-19 and returned home until his blood oxygen unexpectedly dropped.
Doctors eventually installed him with a breathing tube and ventilator and placed him on his stomach, a treatment to oxygenate COVID-19 patients. When that didn’t work, he was transferred to a special unit for what’s called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, an intensive care procedure where a machine oxygenates the blood instead of the heart and lungs. He is now stable and is fighting for his life.
“Not getting the vaccine means… your family may have to feel helpless waiting outside for news every few hours because they can’t come inside to see you,” Satyapriya said. , reading a statement from the woman and the man’s parents.
“We weren’t prepared for how he would be sick so quickly. We wanted to share his experiences to let others know how devastating this virus can be, especially if you don’t get the vaccine. “
Public health is not political. Public health is science-based, public health is data driven, public health is making recommendations, issuing guidance, and implementing policies that protect the general population.
Franklin County Health Commissioner Joe Mazzola
Responding to questions from reporters, Roberts said she was “fully supportive” of employers who have demanded their employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. Dr Mark Herbert, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Carmel Health System, noted that his hospital network and others in central Ohio have started requiring their employees to be vaccinated.
He called the step a “beacon of light” for employers outside the health care sector who, if they wish to help, mandate vaccination is one way to do so.
A landmark 1905 U.S. Supreme Court case, a recent federal appeals decision upholding Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement, and a legal opinion from the U.S. Commission for equal employment opportunities probably provide a secure legal basis for a term of office. However, the policy is more dice.
This summer, Governor Mike DeWine signed a law that, effective October 13, prohibits schools and universities from requiring a vaccine unless he has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. the United States. COVID-19 vaccines are currently available for use under “emergency use authorization,” a streamlined regulatory process used during public health emergencies.
The new law also prevents schools from treating vaccinated students differently from unvaccinated students in terms of masking and social distancing. The pending legislation would go even further, essentially banning vaccination mandates from any employer, business, school, insurer, hospital, nursing home and more.
Mazzola, who is also chairman of the board of the Association of Ohio Health Commissioners, played down the schisms between public health guidelines and state policy. The public, he said, understands the right thing to do, regardless of political actions that limit the authority of public health officials.
“I think unfortunately it has become political, [but] public health is not political, ”he said. “Public health is science-based, public health is data driven, public health is about making recommendations, issuing guidance and putting in place policies that protect the general population. The recommendations we are talking about here this morning will. It will keep kids in school, it will keep employers open for business, it will keep people healthy. I think the public understands this.
This article was republished with permission from the Ohio Capital Journal. To learn more about Ohio’s new policies, visit www.ohiocapitaljournal.com.
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