There's been little good news here in Ohio recently regarding the fight against the coronavirus.
After what appeared to be a return to normal, and mass vaccinations in the spring and early summer, COVID-19 cases across the state are hitting numbers we haven't seen since last winter.
Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff reaffirmed last week that "our daily hospitalizations are about triple what they were last year". Again, numbers that were before the COVID-19 vaccine was available.
The spread largely attributed to the more contagious delta variant - that's being with us for months. Those rising COVID cases are once again straining our healthcare institutions.
To adapt to the increased case load, hospitals are adjusting.
The Cleveland Clinic and Summa Health systems have been putting some non-elective surgeries on hold. And University Hospitals is restricting visitor access to control spread.
Compounding the issues we're seeing with the rise in COVID cases is something that we saw last year, when the pandemic was first surging, and that's burnout and staff shortages among healthcare workers.
It comes from being overworked, overstressed, fear of contracting COVID-19 from unvaccinated patients, and threats against their lives - which we discussed on the program earlier this month.
To begin the hour we'll agin look at the increasing COVID rates and the implications for our healthcare institutions here in Northeast Ohio, and also what it means for the workers in those facilities.
Later in the show, a check-up on flu season. And finally, Cleveland Public Theater is offering a 'pay what you want' policy for tickets.
- Donna Skoda, Health Commissioner, Summit County
- Robert Wyllie, MD, Chief of Medical Operations, The Cleveland Clinic
- Claudia Hoyen, MD, Director of Pediatric Infection Control, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children Hospital
- David Margolius, MD, Division Director of Internal Medicine, MetroHealth
- Raymond Bobgan, Executive Artistic Director, Cleveland Public Theatre
