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Highlighting new data showing an increase in coronavirus cases statewide, the top doctor in the Ohio Department of Health appealed for people who have not yet received the vaccine to get the shot.
“We are now looking at an unvaccinated pandemic,” said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for the Ohio Department of Health.
In an online briefing with reporters on Wednesday, Vanderhoff said that despite what some people are saying on social media and anti-vaccine websites, vaccines are safe and effective. “You only have two choices, get the vaccine or get COVID-19,” Vanderhoff said.
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When Vanderhoff spoke, data from the start of the week showed 744 new cases of the virus in a 24-hour period. Later that day, it jumped to 785 new cases, well above the 21-day average of 380. The culprit? Vanderhoff said the increase in cases is due to the spread of the Delta variant, which he identified as more contagious.
So why are people avoiding the vaccine? Doctors who joined Vanderhoff at the briefing said some people might resist because they did not trust the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety. Dr Amy Edwards, UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital Cleveland, said parents should speak with their doctor if they have questions about vaccines. She said all drugs, including vaccines, carry risks, but they are low compared to the disease. “The risk of the vaccine is much lower than that of COVID itself,” Edwards said.
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Edwards added that some people refused to follow doctors’ advice because the vaccines only had emergency use clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration. She said full clearance may not arrive until the end of this year.
So far, children under 12 are not eligible for vaccines. Dr Patty Manning-Courtney, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, urged people to get vaccinated, if not to protect themselves, then to protect the children of their own families. “That way you take care of the kids in your life,” Manning-Courtney said.
© 2021 Cox Media Group
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