Unvaccinated Ohioans Driving COVID-19 Hospitalization Surge

CLEVELAND — Ohio health officials believe the COVID-19 pandemic is showing signs of slowing in northern Ohio, but is escalating in other parts of the state.

There is concern that even as the pandemic may slow slightly in one region, Ohioans choosing to remain unvaccinated could continue to face serious risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19, said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health.

"Ohio has the highest number of COVID-19 inpatient hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and ventilator use that we've seen throughout the pandemic," Vanderhoff said Friday. "Nine out of 10 hospitalized patients are unvaccinated."

Approximately 60 percent of Ohioans have started the COVID-19 vaccination process, while 55 percent have finished the process, and only 2.8 million have received a booster, according to the state health department.

Northern Ohio's Outbreak Slowing?

Over the past two weeks, Cuyahoga County's daily new cases have dropped by approximately 24 or 25 percent, according to Dr. Robert Wylie, the chief medical operations officer for the Cleveland Clinic.

COVID-19 hospitalization trends tend to lag behind case totals, so Wylie hopes hospitals in northern Ohio will begin to see a decrease in virus-related hospitalizations in coming weeks.

• Read more: Ohio Is 2nd In Nation For COVD-19 Deaths Over Last Week

"We stopped elective inpatient surgeries over a month ago," Wylie said during a news conference on Friday morning. "We've also subsequently stopped all outpatient surgeries so we can take those staff and bring them into essential inpatient areas."

That move allowed hospitals to preserve beds and tactically move staff to needed areas. But many health care workers want to see more Ohioans getting vaccinated.

The vast majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Wylie's hospitals are unvaccinated, he said. At least 75 percent of COVID-19 inpatients are unvaccinated, while 87 percent of COVID-19 patients in the intensive care units are unvaccinated. More than 90 percent of COVID-19 patients on ventilators are unvaccinated, he said.

Echoing Vanderhoff's pleas, Wylie added, "Get vaccinated and get boosted if at all possible."

Central Ohio Getting Worse

While northern Ohio health leaders hope their COVID-19 outbreak is slowing, other parts of the state are beginning to see their own surges.

"What we've seen over the past two weeks is a significant and steep increase in patients with COVID-19 admitted to the hospital," said Dr. Andy Thomas, chief clinical officer of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

The rate of increase shows no signs of slowing, Thomas said, which led many hospitals in the region to delay nonessential inpatient surgeries to preserve bed space and staffing levels. Hospitals are also coordinating care to keep staffing levels as high as possible at all hospitals.

Thomas praised the Ohio National Guard for their support in backing up staff and keeping patient care levels high.

"Those infected with omicron are less likely to experience severe illness or death, but with so many people getting infected and so many people lacking protections of the vaccine it's no surprise we're seeing unprecedented levels of hospitalizations," Vanderhoff said.