Ohio’s Chief Medical Officer warns that delta variants mean when unvaccinated, not whether or not they will be infected with COVID-19.

Cleveland, Ohio-A delta variant of the coronavirus is widespread in Ohio, and on Wednesday state chief medical officers said they would almost certainly develop an infection if they weren’t vaccinated with COVID-19. I issued a strict warning that it would be.

Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, Ohio Health Department Chief Medical Officer, said the delta mutant accounted for more than 36% of all infectious diseases sequenced in Ohio during the two weeks leading up to July 3. It was.It represented Less than 1% of infections just one month ago..

This trend may continue as health experts have determined that the delta mutant is more susceptible to infection than previous virus strains. That said, people who haven’t been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine are more likely to develop an infection at some point, Vanderhoff told reporters at a press conference.

“It’s really just a matter of time now,” said Vanderhoff. “Unvaccinated individuals develop COVID-19 otherwise.”

Vanderhoff provided a candid assessment when only 48.5% of Ohio’s population was vaccinated with the coronavirus vaccine at least once and only 45.5% were fully vaccinated.

This means that more than half of the state’s inhabitants are still susceptible to the virus. This includes all people under the age of 12 who have not yet been vaccinated. About 57% of age-qualified people are vaccinated.

A media briefing was also held the next day Ohio reports 744 new coronavirus infections, The state’s highest total in almost two months. Vanderhoff said the recent surge was primarily caused by the Delta variant.

Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babys and Children’s Hospital, who also participated in the media, said the spread of the delta variant would significantly increase the risk to unvaccinated Ohio residents. it is clear. briefing.

“There is no doubt about that. The delta variant is here, so you get sick from COVID,” Edwards said.

Pediatricians say children should be vaccinated

As the delta mutation spreads and more adults are vaccinated, children and teens have a higher rate of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Vanderhoff said. From October to December 2020, individuals under the age of 20 accounted for 12% of Ohio cases and 2% of hospitalizations. From May to June 2021, it accounted for 20% of infectious diseases and 5% of hospitalizations.

The doctor who spoke at the media briefing admitted that children over the age of 12 are eligible for vaccination and that many parents are hesitant. Some people are concerned about the very rare but serious side effects associated with vaccines. One of them is myocarditis or pericarditis, Rare type of heart inflammation This is mainly reported in teens and young adults after the second dose.

However, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 12.6 of the 1 million doses of Pfizer and Modana vaccines given in the United States are associated with heart inflammation. And most of the cases were mild.

“They seemed to have a very low risk of myocarditis after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, but they determined that the benefits of these vaccines far outweighed the risks,” Wanderhoff said. ..

Dr. Patty Manning Courtney, chief staff at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, said in a briefing that most of the side effects of the vaccine in children are mild and not much more serious than COVID-19 itself. ..

On the other hand, children infected with COVID-19 can develop very serious complications such as: Pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndromeA rare but serious complication that activates the immune system and attacks other organs. According to Edwards, almost all children with MIS-C need to be treated in the ICU, and many need a ventilator.

“Sure, the risk of vaccines far outweighs the risk of MIS-C,” Edwards said.