CLEVELAND, Ohio — The current COVID-19 surge is placing a “dangerous strain on Ohio’s hospitals,” Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said during a virtual press briefing on Thursday.
The best way to alleviate the pressure on hospitals is to get vaccinated and wear a mask when advised, he said. Most hospitalized patients are unvaccinated.
The current surge, fueled by the delta variant, is keeping hospitalization rates throughout the state dangerously high.
“Delta is aggressively seeking out anyone who lacks immunity, and it’s making many of them very sick,” Vanderhoff said.
Hospitals are stretched to capacity due to COVID-19 and staffing problems, leading them to make difficult decisions, Vanderhoff said. Some hospitals have rescheduled elective procedures, and diverted cases to other hospitals. Some health systems have temporarily reached full capacity.
“These measures should raise alarms,” Vanderhoff said.
Brian Kaminski, vice president of quality and patient safety at ProMedica, said better vaccine uptake could have prevented the current surge. He spoke during the press briefing. ProMedica is a non-profit health care system with locations in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.
“We could have prevented where we are right now, if we’d had vaccine in 80% of our population three or four months ago,” Kaminski said.
Kaminski expressed his frustration with people who refuse to get the vaccine without legitimate medical reasons.
“When I ask people why they haven’t gotten the vaccine yet, I hear, ‘Well, I’m just not sure about it yet.’ And I’m like, ‘What are you not sure about?’ ” Kaminski said. He called the COVID-19 vaccine safe, effective and the most studied vaccine in history.
“I believe in an individual’s right not to take the vaccine, but that right stops when it crosses over the line of someone else’s pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Kaminski said. “There’s got to be a community spirit, a groundswell of community spirit in this country to understand that while it is an individual decision, that individual decision impacts everyone…. If you don’t get the vaccine and spread it inadvertently, you’re putting others at risk.”
The current COVID-19 case rate is more than 600 per 100,000 residents, with daily reported cases over 7,000.
On Wednesday, Ohio health officials reported more than 7,000 cases over the previous 24 hours, taking the 21-day average above 6,000. In that same 24-hour period, 292 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital.
“The figures we’re seeing for COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions are all reminiscent of what we saw during our winter surge,” Vanderhoff said.
State health officials are waiting for federal guidance on whether booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccines will be necessary, Vanderhoff said. The state is working with its vaccination partners to make plans to deliver booster shots, if they are authorized.
“We’ll be well positioned to begin that distribution very rapidly” if it’s decided that boosters are needed, he said. “However, until the federal government makes final recommendations on whether a booster really is called for, and then determines who is eligible, we simply cannot finalize our plans.”
Vanderhoff was asked why near-capacity hospitals don’t limit the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients to make room for other sick patients who are vaccinated. He answered that Ohio hospitals can share resources to ensure that all patients are properly cared for.
Responding to the same question, Kaminski said healthcare professionals take an oath to care for everyone, and they don’t judge based on vaccination status or other factors.
Fall events that draw large crowds, such as Oktoberfest celebrations, are gearing up across the state, and Vanderhoff recommended that people attending them wear masks.
Contact tracing from large outdoor concerts this summer linked transmission of the virus to indoor events held before or after outdoor concerts, Kaminski said.
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