On January 5, Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA, chief medical officer for the Ohio Department of Health, provided information related to the coronavirus variation that was first seen in the United Kingdom.
“Although virus variations are normal, and most do not impact the behavior of a virus, this variation is notable because it appears to be more contagious than other variants of the coronavirus,” said Dr. Vanderhoff. “Fortunately, this variant doesn’t appear to be more severe or to impact those who are already immune, but it worries us because a more contagious variant could lead to more people getting sick, more people being hospitalized, and more people dying.”
Ohio currently has three times the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations that it had on November 1, 2020, and nearly seven times the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations that it had on October 1, 2020.
Dr. Vanderhoff stressed the importance of continuing Ohio’s coronavirus protocols of social distancing, avoiding crowds, washing hands, wearing masks, and accepting the vaccine when available to prevent the spread of all variants of the coronavirus and to prevent further increases in hospitalizations.