COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff provided an update on COVID-19 with fall officially underway.
The briefing came just 10 days after DeWine's most recent COVID-19 infection. The governor encouraged Ohioans, especially those over age 60, to get the new, updated vaccine that targets the new Omicron subvariants.
Since the new vaccine became available last week, 87,871 Ohioans received one. Of those, 58,529 were over age 60. That’s the most vulnerable age group and DeWine says we’re still seeing two Ohioans die from COVID each day.
For those who’ve had a recent COVID infection, you have about a 90 natural immunity, but Vanderhoff suggests you get the updated vaccine three months after your infection.
Pharmacies are getting the vaccine from the manufacturers; the state and federal government are no longer providing them. However, the vaccines are covered by insurance and there are programs available for those who are uninsured to get one for free. Learn where to find a vaccine and how to get one for free at vaccines.gov.
DeWine said his personal experience with this latest round of COVID was very mild. He did receive an anti-viral medication as well.
New Cleveland Clinic-led research shows commonly used COVID-19 anti-viral drugs Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir) and Lagevrio (molnupiravir) reduce risk of hospitalization and death in high-risk patients with mild disease, even with Omicron subvariants
The observational study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed nearly 70,000 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at Cleveland Clinic. It found that nirmatrelvir lowered risk of death by 84% and molnupiravir by 77% compared to no treatment. Both drugs also reduced combined risk of hospitalization and death by over 40%. Importantly, the treatments were effective across all patient subgroups and against newer strains like BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.5.
You can read more about Cleveland Clinic's study here.
You can watch Thursday's COVID-19 briefing in the player below:
