COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Health is set to give an update Thursday on the coronavirus pandemic, specifically talking about "COVID-19 and youth behavioral health" in the state.
ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff will lead the discussion, with other speakers including Dr. Joseph Gastaldo of OhioHealth and Dr. Mary Beth DeWitt of Dayton Children's Hospital. 3News plans to stream the briefing live beginning at 11 a.m. on WKYC.com, the WKYC app, and the WKYC Facebook and YouTube pages.
The press conference comes as kids age 5-11 continue to get vaccinated both in Ohio and around the country, although a recent study showed 30% of American parents do not plan to get the shots for their children. Additionally, several Northeast Ohio school districts are beginning to drop or relax their mask mandates, even as most students are still unvaccinated and COVID cases begin to inch up again in the state.
"There continues to be real progress in the fight against COVID-19, which should give us genuine optimism," Vanderhoff said last week. "But our optimism needs to be tempered by the fact that the numbers on the ground continue to tell us that we are most certainly not out of the woods yet."
More COVID-19 headlines:
- COVID-19 boosters for all adults could be available this weekend
- Education Station: Substitute teacher shortage plaguing schools in Northeast Ohio and nationwide
- US offering investment to boost COVID-19 vaccine capacity
- Science helps to develop new weapons in fight against COVID-19
- COVID-19 rises again in an under-vaccinated Ohio
