Local health experts and government leaders say their fight is not over against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
On Sept. 14, the Lorain County Community Protection Team held its biweekly online meeting to discuss the latest developments involving COVID-19.
Hospitals are filling up and the effects of vaccination mandates are not yet clear, they said.
Lorain County Public Health Commissioner Dave Covell said he is cautiously optimistic Ohio would experience a six-week wave of the delta variant, similar to patterns of infection increases and declines in other states and nations.
In the schools
Lorain County’s schools have various requirements about students wearing masks in their classrooms, Covell said.
The county health department cannot mandate masks and it appears unlikely state officials will require them, he said.
Schools have a dual problem of spreading COVID-19 when children are not wearing masks in schools.
Away from the schoolhouse, young people still are playing sports and gathering with friends at home, which can spread the novel coronavirus, Covell said.
But Lorain County has not had a major outbreak because schools have been identifying and removing children who show symptoms of COVID-19, he said.
Getting sick
There have been 380 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to about 65 percent of the adult population, said Dr. Rebecca Starck, president of Cleveland Clinic Avon Hospital.
But, 35 percent of the adult population remains at significant risk, Starck said.
Lorain County and other areas are seeing increased cases due to the wave of the delta variant of the novel coronavirus, Covell and Stark said.
It likely will pass, but not without risk.
“We’re not through this pandemic by any stretch of the imagination, unfortunately,” Starck said. “I’m not hearing any cases of people dying from the vaccine, and I can tell you that we are still seeing people dying from COVID.
“And so, it is now largely now a pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
Starck said unfortunately, the secondary effects of that on the rest of society are profound, such as people losing loved ones or being in the hospital for days on end.
She and Char Wray, chief nursing officer for Mercy Health – Lorain, agreed hospitals are dealing with large numbers of people with COVID-19, along with people seeking treatment for other illnesses and injuries.
For people experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, Wray suggested they use virtual care or Mercy Health’s walk-in clinics around the county.
There still are easy precautions against the novel coronavirus, she said.
People should avoid gathering with lots of other people; wear a mask; wash your hands; avoid touching your face; and if you don’t feel good, stay home, Wray said.
Vaccine efficacy
Starck acknowledged some people who get vaccinated still contract COVID-19, but that is not a reason for skipping the shots.
She said she does not like the term “breakthrough cases” because no vaccine is 100 percent effective.
Safety data on the vaccines shows severe side effects are extremely rare, she said.
Vaccinated people with cases generally have less severe symptoms and better outcomes than people without the shots.
The antibodies tend to get rid of the virus quicker, so sufferers are less contagious to others and for a shorter time, Starck said.
“Definitely yes, you can get infected if you’ve been vaccinated,” Starck said. “It doesn’t mean the vaccine’s not working.
“You will be armed with the antibodies to fight that (virus). That’s a much better protection than having an unknown and uncertain reaction to COVID.”
Vaccine mandates
There are more questions than answers about the effects of President Biden’s new rule mandating vaccines for businesses with more than 100 workers, said Kyle Rose, North American corporate media relations officer for Avient.
It appeared that applies to states with their own OSHA plan, said Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley, referring to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Ohio does not have such a plan, so employers here are not subject to the president’s order at this point, Bradley said.
Lorain County Public Health is a local health department that gets federal money, Covell said.
It was unclear if how vaccine requirement applies there, although the agency has about a 95 percent vaccination rate, he said.
There likely will be lawsuits over the federal rules, Covell said.
Flu season
Starck said she has been recommending flu vaccines already for expectant mothers, while Covell said he usually recommends it in mid-November.
They agreed adults should get their flu vaccines this year.
With people taking precautions against COVID-19 last year, flu cases generally declined.
Avon Lake Mayor Greg Zilka asked if it is possible to get the flu and COVID-19 at the same time, but Starck and Covell said they were not aware of any studies on that question.
