Ohio COVID-19 Hospitalizations Increase 23%

Thursday’s Ohio Department of Health press conference shed light on the Delta Variant COVID-19 & kids from distinguished doctors.

The 11/18/21 press conference led by Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, found here, lasted just over an hour long and explained trends that the state of Ohio is seeing in regards to COVID-19 research, Ohioans, and children.

Key Takeaways:

• As of 11/18/21- More than 77,000 children ages, 5-11 have their first dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine.
• More than 6.6 million Ohioans have now begun the vaccination process (about 60% of those 5 and up living in Ohio)
• Rise in hospitalizations continues (up 23% in the last 21 days) due to very infectious Delta variant
• 1 in 7 patients in hospitals have COVID-19
• More than 2,800 patients in Ohio hospitals on 11/17/21 with COVID-19 with over 800 of them in the ICU
• ICU Admissions increased by 15% in the past 21 days
• Deadlines for entering Vax-2-School lottery is Nov. 21st, Nov. 28th & Dec. 1st
  • • • 150 $10,000 Scholarships awarded
      • 5 $100,000 Scholarships awarded
      • Daily prizes announced November 22-December 3rd

Specialists Interviews

Dr. Joe Gastaldo, Director of Infectious Diseases at Ohio Health

• Long COVID– Serious risk which can be quite debilitating as their symptoms do not go away such as:
  • • • Headache, memory deficits, mental fogginess, shortness of breath, changes in taste and smell
• Symptoms can last more than 6 months
• Anyone from children, teens, to adults who get COVID are at risk for Long COVID

Dr. Mary Beth DeWitt Dayton Children’s Hospital Chief of Psychology

• Increase in referrals and visits across the continuum of psychology and psychiatry services for children
• Increase in crisis, emergency, day treatment, partial hospitalizations & school-based resilience services
• 1 in 5 kids before the pandemic suffered from a mental health condition or learning disability and less than half of those kids were getting adequate services to support them
• 30-40% increase in symptoms being identified in kids since COVID-19 outbreak

Tips for Adults and Children:

• Stay engaged with your children
• Share challenges and discuss them so kids know they are not alone or doing anything wrong
•  Help children and teens stay connected safely with their friends for peer support
• Have a healthy diet (fruits and veggies)
• Get enough sleep
• Spend time outside in fresh air
• Exercise
• Know what resources are available

Bottom line:

• COVID-19 Hospitalizations Increase and doctors are urging all Ohioans to gain more information from their doctor about the vaccines and consider getting a vaccine to protect themselves and others against the virus.

Whole press conference: