Thread by @joingles

Ohio Dept of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff and Gov Mike DeWine - news conference on COVID - Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Gov DeWine says the goal of keeping kids in school is clearly at risk due to the COVID Delta variant. He says things have worsened. He wants to reiterate that kids should be vaccinated or masked while in the classroom.

DeWine says cases today are the highest since February. More than 3,200 cases (probable+confirmed). He says every county in the state is a high-incident county.

DeWine says the hospitalizations right now are comparable to the number in February.

DeWine says decisions to mask/vaccinate rely upon parents and school officials. He says he thinks it would be wrong to not let everyone know how bad the situation is. He urges children to be vaccinated or wear a mask while in class.

DeWine cites two Florida schools and one in South Carolina where mass outbreaks have disrupted schools.

DeWine says it will be difficult to keep Delta out of classrooms without masks/vaccinations. He says this will decrease the chance kids can have in-person learning.

DeWine points out every student last year wore masks. That isn't necessarily happening this year. He says the Delta variant spreads from one person to five. "This is a whole, different ballgame," DeWine says.

DeWine urges schools to consider masks temporarily (now) while the spread is high.

DeWine says parents have the right to make their kids wear masks, even if schools don't require them.

Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff says COVID-19 is not the common cold. He says it can cause lasting damage, including MISC. He says the virus can damage organs and cause long-lasting problems, even death.

Vanderhoff says the Delta variant, which is prevalent now, can make you sicker quicker. And he says it's more contagious.

Vanderhoff says genomic testing shows between July 18-31st, Delta made up almost 90% of COVID cases in Ohio.

Vanderhoff says Delta is more contagious than colds and flu but he says it is FAR more dangerous for both adults and kids.

Vanderhoff says children's hospitals statewide are seeing cases of previously healthy kids with very serious cases of COVID.

Why isn't Ohio reporting breakthrough COVID at the case level like some other states? DeWine left it to Vanderhoff to answer. And Vanderhoff says Ohio is following CDC guidelines.

DeWine says people who are vaccinated are not getting COVID. We know for certain there are breakthrough cases that are not reported in the state's numbers. He says vaccinated cases don't often result in hospitalization/death. But Ohio does not track breakthrough cases.

Another question about breakthrough cases. DeWine says he will have a discussion about tracking breakthrough CASES with the health dept but he says the people we should be worried about are those who haven't been vaccinated.

Vanderhoff says vaccines against COVID help protect from having serious effects. He says they cannot always protect you from getting COVID. He says tracking breakthrough cases at the case level doesn't tell the state much. He says we shouldn't get distracted by breakthrough cases

Vanderhoff says reporting breakthrough cases wouldn't necessarily be accurate anyway because a lot of people have very mild symptoms. Therefore, he says many people with breakthrough cases might not realize they even have COVID.

What about bills to ban employers/biz from requiring vaccines/mask mandates in schools? DeWine says he's surprised lawmakers would want to go against local control. He says he is not in favor of doing that.

Gov -would you issue another mask mandate? He said getting information out there is important but he says the clear preference of the majority of the state is for them to make their own decisions. So no, he's not.

What about refugees from Afghanistan? DeWine says as a citizen, he is concerned. But he says decisions about military actions and refugees need to be made at the national level.

DeWine says he doesn't suggest a mask mandate by "any unit of government" but he is urging school leaders/parents to make this decision for their students.

DeWine says masks might not work as well against Delta variant, they still will work better than nothing. Vanderhoff says the virus is spread in droplets so anything that can prevent transmission of those droplets can be helpful. He says masks continue to be important.

Asked about giving the vaccine to kids younger than 12 - Vanderhoff says the trials are underway now. He says drug companies are also looking at improving the effectiveness of boosters.

Is Ohio receiving requests from other states to take COVID patients because of overcrowding in hospitals? Vanderhoff says the state has not received those requests.

Is there enough hospital capacity in Ohio now? Vanderhoff says yes. He says ODH continues to meet with leaders from various zones in the state to make sure facilities can be ramped up quickly if needed.

Vanderhoff says it is safe to administer both the flu vaccine and COVID vaccine. He says those vaccines do not conflict with each other.

DeWine says it would be a serious mistake to tell schools they cannot mandate masks. There's a bill that would do that. That's a signal of whether he would sign that bill if passes. But he also lauds vaccines yet signed a bill that prevents schools from requiring them.

Takeaway from this press conference -

*Gov won't mandate masks but wants school leaders/parents to mask kids because the variant is so prevalent

*The Delta variant is hitting Ohio hard. So health leaders are bracing for it to hit harder here.