CLEVELAND — In an effort to counter the ongoing spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Mike DeWine repeatedly urged more Ohioans to get vaccinated in a Friday press briefing.
"We now have this delta variant that is everywhere in Ohio as [Ohio's Chief Medical Officer] Dr. [Bruce] Vandherhoff, a month ago, predicted," DeWine said during the question-and-answer portion of his press conference.
The delta variant continues to spread throughout the country, and according to University Hospitals Dr. Amy Edwards, the COVID chaos happening down South is headed to the Buckeye State in a matter of weeks.
"We are only two or three weeks from things getting really bad here in Ohio," Edwards warned. "This one is bad. It's worse than the last ones, and now is the time to take it seriously."
The President of the American Academy of Pediatrics says the U.S. experienced the "largest week-over-week percentage increase" in pediatric COVID cases since the start of the pandemic, with children's hospitals in Florida and Texas filling up quickly.
"We are already starting to see the first trickle in the hospital on the adult size and the pediatric is going to follow, and it's going to be awful," Edwards said.
Additionally, a new study from the CDC found that unvaccinated people are more than twice as likely to be re-infected with COVID-19 compared to those who are fully vaccinated.
"If you had COVID more than two or three months ago, you need to get vaccinated," Edwards told 3News. "Getting the vaccine can prevent you from getting sick again, because some people who had a natural infection are still at risk for getting it again, particularly that over 65 age group."
DeWine also shared a chart regarding hospitalizations to stress the efficacy of COVID vaccines. Of the more than 18,000 Ohioans hospitalized with COVID-19 since the start of 2021, roughly 98% were not fully vaccinated.
"The name of the game today is vaccines," the governor declared. "This is where we win. his is where we don't win."