Health
COVID-19, RSV, pneumonia spreading in Ohio, Department of Health says
In this holiday season of giving, health experts are urging Ohioans to avoid giving your friends and family respiratory illnesses by getting vaccinated.
Winter doesn’t just mean flu season anymore, the Ohio Department of Health says, warning that several respiratory diseases — including COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and bacterial pneumonia — also are circulating this holidays season.
Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said during a news conference Monday that people can prevent illnesses by washing their hands frequently, staying home if they are sick and taking advantage of available vaccines for the flu, RSV and COVID.
“This is the time of your large indoor gatherings of family and friends,” Vanderhoff said. “If you’re not feeling well, if you have a cough, congestion or other symptoms, even without any sort of official test or diagnosis of some kind, please consider staying home.”
Although Ohio is no longer in a “pandemic state” of COVID-19 transmission, Vanderhoff warned that the virus continues to sicken and hospitalize some vulnerable people.
In November, Ohio saw 50,233 COVID-19 cases compared to 54,311 in November 2022, and 170,000 in November 2021, Vanderhoff said.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Ohio are averaging about 450 per week, Vanderhoff added.
An updated COVID-19 vaccine was released in October. Only about 9.5% of Ohioans have received this updated vaccine, including about 29% of Ohioans 65 and older, Vanderhoff said.
“Getting this vaccine, which replaces all previous COVID vaccines and boosters, remains your best bet for protection against severe illness,” Vanderhoff said. “And recently, new research was published that shows a clear link between getting a third COVID vaccine and a lowered risk for developing the syndrome known as long COVID.”
A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 28% of people who had contracted COVID-19 develop some symptoms of long COVID, Vanderhoff said.
Vaccines are also available for RSV and the flu, the other two “big three” illnesses sickening people this season. Vanderhoff said this year hasn’t been as severe for those illnesses as last year, when those viruses came on “very early and very hard,” straining health care resources.
RSV vaccines are recommended by the CDC for people 60 years and older, for pregnant people and for infants born shortly before or during RSV season, with occurs from fall to the end of spring. Vanderhoff said people with underlying health conditions should also get the vaccine.
Influenza cases are on the rise, Vanderhoff said, but remain lower than Ohio’s five-year average for this time of year. Flu vaccines are recommended for people of all ages and can prevent serious illness even if a vaccinated person does contract the illness, he said.
Pneumonia cases have been high this year, and Vanderhoff said those have been driven by an increase in pneumonia caused by mycoplasma pneumonia. The disease has been especially prevalent in Warren County, which has recorded more than 140 pediatric pneumonia cases since August.
Despite its alarming name, “walking pneumonia” is usually a mild form of the illness, Vanderhoff said, noting it’s called that because most patients are up and walking.
No vaccine is available for mycoplasma pneumonia, but antibiotics can treat serious infections. Vaccines are available for pneumonia caused by different bacteria, streptococcus pneumonia, but that bacteria has not been behind a surge in cases, he said.
There has also been an elevated number of pertussis, or whooping cough, cases in 2023, Vanderhoff reported. Whooping cough goes through an epidemic cycle every 3-5 years, and this year is one of those peaks, he said.
The federal Centers for Disease Control recommends whooping cough vaccines for babies, children, preteens and pregnant people. It’s included in the Tdap vaccine, which is required at age 10 years for public school students.
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