The Ohio Department of Health issued another alert today to the health district in regard to the county’s wastewater, flagging local health leaders to a possible spike in cases in the next three to five days. The county has received several alerts this year and in 2020 through the state’s wastewater monitoring system, with the last alert issued in August.
“We continue to see a rise in cases,” Patterson. “Obviously, we need to do something in this community to get the curve to level off.”
Dr. Paul Buchanan, who joined Patterson on this week’s livestream and serves as the chief clinical officer for the Springfield market of Mercy Health, said the trend of cases in the county appears to look like a “hockey stick,” with cases continually rising. Buchanan encouraged vaccination, masking and social distancing in order to suppress the upward curve of cases.
“We just have to keep doing what we’re doing to avoid risk,” Buchanan said. He noted the delta variant of the virus is much more virulent than the prior strain of COVID-19.
The Ohio Department of Health reported that as of Friday, 43.6% of Clark County’s population have completed their vaccine series. 62,796 total vaccines have been administered countywide.
The health district has heard from the state that a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine may become available to the general public in September. The health district will be using a building located at 110 W. Leffel Lane in Springfield to administer third doses of the vaccine once it receives the green light from the state to do so
Recipients of a two-dose vaccine will be eligible for a third dose (”booster” shot) as early as eight months after their second dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
A third dose of the vaccine is available for immunocompromised individuals.
Twenty-six of last week’s new COVID-19 cases were considered “breakthrough” cases (instances of vaccinated individuals testing positive for the virus), Patterson said.
In totality, breakthrough cases account for 7% of positive cases in the county. Buchanan said that many individuals who fall under the category of breakthrough infections may be occurring among individuals who are tested frequently and not symptomatic.
More unvaccinated individuals who test positive for the virus require hospitalization than those who are vaccinated, Buchanan said. However, 25% of the COVID-19 cases who are hospitalized locally are breakthrough cases, a trend that Buchanan called “unusual.”
“Our best hope is to try to get as many people vaccinated as possible,” Buchanan said. “Because if you don’t get vaccinated, you will get the virus. It’s just a question of when.”
As of Friday, 15,982 total cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the county, with 1,241,268 total cases reported statewide, according to ODH. In Ohio, 20,947 COVID-19 deaths have been reported.
Clark County joins many other Ohio counties witnessing a rise in cases.
The state reported 6,179 cases Friday, according to ODH. The state reported 7,087 cases Thursday, and on Wednesday, the 7,102 cases reported included more than 1,000 cases from August that weren’t previously reported due to a laboratory delay, according to the state health department.
By the numbers
43.6: Percentage of Clark County residents who have completed the COVID-19 vaccine series
15,982: Total number of coronavirus cases reported in Clark County
318: Total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Clark County
About the Authors
