Governor DeWine received a letter from the Ohio Hospital Association outlining the dire conditions facing hospitals who are on the front lines of treating patients with COVID.

The letter reported that increasing cases are putting a strain on hospital resources. The data shows:

• In mid-July, Ohio hospitals were treating 200 COVID-19 patients, today that number is 3,702. That’s a 16-fold increase in two months.
• In mid-July, one out of 100 patients in the hospital were being treated for COVID. Today the ratio is one out of six. Today, 40% of patients on ventilators are being treated for COVID.
• In rural Southeast Ohio half of hospitalized patients are being treated for COVID-19 and two-thirds of the patients in the intensive care unit are being treated for COVID.

The letter described a situation where strained resources impact the ability to care for all patients. Some Ohio hospitals are diverting patients away from emergency departments, cancelling certain procedures, experiencing long wait times in emergency departments, and shutting down certain units to redeploy staff to critical cases. 

Governor DeWine emphasized that keeping kids in school, in-person, five days a week, remains a priority. We know that the best way to do that is to get students vaccinated. In addition to protecting kids from the severe effects of the virus, students who are vaccinated, do not have to quarantine if exposed, which means they won’t miss out on school.

To encourage eligible kids to get vaccinated, Governor DeWine announced the Ohio Vax-2-School program, which will be open to Ohioans aged 12 to 25 years old, and will be similar to the scholarship portion of the successful Vax-a-Million program. Prizes will include 50 scholarships worth $10,000 each and five $100,000 scholarships to an Ohio college or university for career or technical education. Prizes will be announced Monday through Friday beginning the week of October 11. More details will be announced, including how to register, in the coming days.

Current Case Data

In-depth COVID-19 data for Ohio: coronavirus.ohio.gov

Ohio's central scheduling system: gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov

Ohio mass vaccination information: coronavirus.ohio.gov/massvaccinationclinics

All vaccine providers: vaccine.coronavirus.ohio.gov

More vaccine information: coronavirus.ohio.gov/vaccine

Video of the most recent updates, including versions with foreign language translation, can be viewed on The Ohio Channel's YouTube page. 

For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.

Trusted Resources 

• State Medical Board of Ohio COVID-19 updates
  • med.ohio.gov/COVID-19
• Board of Pharmacy updates
  
  • COVID-19 vaccine information
  • COVID-19 response efforts
• State of Ohio's website
  • Coronavirus.Ohio.Gov
  • Provider-specific information
• Department of Health hotline
  • 1-833-4-ASK-ODH
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
  • Information for health care professionals
• World Health Organization
  • COVID-19 info
• DEA
  • COVID-19 information page

Provider Wellness Resources

Text 4HOPE to 741 741
Or log onto ophp.org/covid-19-resources