CLEVELAND, Ohio – From booster news to Covid’s effect on high school sports in Ohio, a new incentive plan in the state and more, here is our weekly roundup of coronavirus facts and figures regarding Cleveland, Ohio, the United States and the world Sept. 18-24, followed by our quotes of the week:
Sept. 18
Ohio records 6,716 new coronavirus cases.
Sept. 19
Ohio records 4,428 new cases. … Prolific Serbian lyricist Marina Tucakovic, whose body of work covers more than 4,000 songs, dies after testing positive for Covid. She was 67.
Sept. 20
Ohio is experiencing a surge of pediatric Covid cases that puts it among the worst states for numbers of kids hospitalized. Ohio has seen 466 hospitalized children with Covid since July 1, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. During the first half of September there were 170 kids hospitalized for the illness. Nine children have died of Covid in Ohio. … U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, (above photo, top right) a Democrat from the Niles area who is campaigning for U.S. Senate, announces he has tested positive. Ryan, who is vaccinated, has mild symptoms. … Pfizer says its Covid vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group - a key step to beginning vaccinations for youngsters.
Sept. 21
Ohio records 6,814 cases. … Another 125 Ohioans have died with coronavirus, continuing an upward trend in deaths as the Delta variant continues its run through the state. Ohio Department of Health figures show it is the fourth consecutive Tuesday in which reported deaths increased. Cumulative Covid fatalities in Ohio are at 21,596. … It’s reported that Cuyahoga County has the second-highest cumulative number of pediatric Covid cases in Ohio. Cuyahoga has reported 13,877 pediatric Covid cases. Franklin County has the highest number, at 19,100. Hamilton County is third with 13,084 pediatric cases.
Sept. 22
Ohio records 6,882 cases. … Cleveland.com’s Julie Washington says MetroHealth System and Case Western Reserve University are among Ohio medical centers that are part of a worldwide drug trial looking for treatments aimed at helping patients avoid hospitalization, death or long Covid. … Cleveland.com’s Matt Goul reports that as Ohio’s case count continues to climb, cancellations continue to be a reality for high school sports. Through five weeks of the football season, the number of canceled games this year has exceeded last year’s total. Citing a score-tracking website, he says at least 191 Ohio football games have been canceled in the first five weeks. Not all are confirmed to be related to Covid or for health reasons, but in 2019 - before the pandemic - the state had only eight canceled games by the season’s midway point. Last year, Ohio had 58 games canceled through five weeks and 188 games total through a 13-week season and playoffs. … The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it would grant emergency-use authorization for a booster dose of Pfizer’s vaccine in people 65 and older, people at high risk of severe disease and people whose jobs put them at risk of infection. … Johns Hopkins University data says an average of more than 2,000 people are dying of Covid every day in the United States.
Sept. 23
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announces a new vaccine lottery aimed at motivating younger Ohioans to get vaccinated, including five $100,000 scholarships. “Ohio Vax To School” is aimed to alleviate hospital resources already being stretched thin by a surge in cases. … South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa (above photo, bottom right) tells the UN General Assembly more than 82% of the world’s vaccine doses have been acquired by wealthy countries and less than 1% has gone to low-income nations. … The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorses booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans, opening a major new phase in the U.S vaccination drive. Advisers say boosters should be offered to people 65 and older, nursing-home residents and those ages 50 to 64 who have risky underlying health problems. The extra dose would be given once they are at least six months past their last Pfizer shot.
Sept. 24
Authorities in Singapore say because cases have increased more rapidly than had been expected, the nation will tighten Covid restrictions to limit social gatherings to two people and make working from home a default, to try to contain a spike in infections and reduce pressure on the healthcare system. The nation also is expanding its booster-vaccine shot program to cover those aged 50 to 59, Reuters reports.
Quotes of the week
• “We tend to forget that no one is safe until everyone is safe.” – Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan, noting the grim consequences of vaccine inequity between nations as she spoke at the 76th session of the U.N. General Assembly. Covid hit Tanzania hard in March when the East African country’s then-president John Magufuli, who had insisted coronavirus could be defeated with prayer, died.
• “It’s going to be really, really unfortunate.” – Dr. Amy Edwards, pediatric infectious disease specialist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Covid deaths among children are rare, but Edwards predicts there will be more in the next few months.
• “Big pockets of American society — and, worse, their leaders — have thrown this away.” - Medical historian Dr. Howard Markel of the University of Michigan about the opportunity to vaccinate everyone eligible by now. Covid has killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. The U.S. population then was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath. But the Covid crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy, given the advances in scientific knowledge.
• “We are bracing ourselves for an awfully busy winter ahead.” - Dr. Megan Ranney, associate dean of Public Health at Brown University to CNN.
• “Flu is still a killer, not as much as Covid-19, but between 12,000 and 50,000 Americans lose their lives every year from flu.” - Dr. Peter Hotez, vaccinologist and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
We compile our coronavirus timeline from cleveland.com stories and wire reports. Each Saturday morning, we recap news and stats regarding the virus. Here is the previous coronavirus recap Sept. 11-17.
I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. And tune in at 7 a.m. Wednesdays for “Beer with Bona and Much, Much More” with Munch Bishop on 1350-AM The Gambler. Twitter: @mbona30.
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