CLEVELAND — They were the images that highlighted peaks in the COVID pandemic: Hospital workers in head-to-toe PPE with patients attached to tubes, long lines at testing sites, and the moments where some finally got vaccinated.
"You can support the human body with breathing machines and IV fluids and all this sort of stuff," Dr. Amy Edwards from University Hospitals says, "and it's either going to heal or it's not going to heal."
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Edwards will never forget the moments in the hospital before known treatments were out, waiting and hoping someone's lungs would be able to heal enough to get off a ventilator.
"The pace of science and technology advances so much quicker now than even 10 years ago or 15 years ago and we see that in medicine now," she explained. "Medicine advances so much quicker now than it used to."
COVID-19 cases are currently on the rise in Northeast Ohio but hospitalizations and deaths are not climbing in the same way they did with other variants. Those medical advances have played a key role in that outcome so far, with more options when it comes to treating patients.
Even so, Edwards says it's important to remember there isn't an endless supply of preventative medications like Evushield and antivirals like Paxlovid. Still, having options for treatment as well as preventions like vaccines and masks can potentially help leave some of those more haunting images in the past.
"We have not gotten any indication from the Ohio Department of Health or the CDC that mass vaccination sites or mass testing sites will be resumed," Kevin Brennan from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health told 3News.
While hospitalizations remain low, the Board of Health is still monitoring the current situation since Cuyahoga County is currently seeing what's considered "high transmission" of the coronavirus. If you are concerned you might have COVID-19, officials suggest staying at home. If you need to be tested, reach out to your doctor and take an at-home test kit.