Lake County saw back-to-back weeks of 500-plus newly reported novel coronavirus cases for the first time since early February.
The county had a seven-day case total of 529 Sept. 21, down from 573 on Sept. 14, according to data for the Ohio Department of Health. Lake County had a seven-day case total of 581 on Feb. 2 and 523 on Feb. 9. Until this month, that was the last time the county had a seven-day case total greater than 500.
There have been 24,513 COVID-19 cases reported in Lake County since the start of the pandemic. Of that total, ODH presumes that 22,631 have recovered. ODH defines presumed recovered as those with a symptom onset date greater than 21 days prior who are not deceased.
As cases across the state have increased, so have hospitalizations. Gov. Mike DeWine said in a Sept. 21 news conference that the state had 459 newly reported hospitalizations that day, the highest number of new hospitalizations since January.
During the week of Sept. 5, Ohio hospitals admitted 398 patients under the age of 50, which is the highest number of COVID-19 admissions for that age group during the entire pandemic. During the most recently completed reporting week (Sept. 5 to Sept. 11), 230 Ohioans 39 and younger were admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19 which is the highest number of admissions for COVID in this age group during the pandemic.
DeWine said “around 97 percent of patients of all ages in Ohio hospitals today are unvaccinated.” Preliminary numbers from August show that 18 Ohioans 39 years old and younger died from COVID-19. In June, five people in that age range died of COVID-19 and two in that range died in July.
“The bottom line is that we’re seeing our highest levels ever of hospitalizations among those under 50 years old,” DeWine said. “Those who are getting very sick, being hospitalized, and dying of COVID are getting younger and younger. And it is because they are not vaccinated.”
Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff again urged those eligible to get vaccinated.
“If you are young and unvaccinated it’s now probably only a question of when, not if, you get COVID-19,” Vanderhoff said. “When you get COVID-19 without the protection of a vaccine, there is a very real risk you’ll end up in the hospital or the obituary pages. The numbers really tell it all, COVID has changed and is now making younger Ohioans who are not vaccinated very sick.
“Don’t become a statistic when there is a simple, safe, and effective alternative. Go out today and get vaccinated.”
More than 60 percent of Lake County’s total population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as of Sept. 21. More than 56 percent of the county’s total population has completed the vaccination process, according to ODH data. Lake County continues to have the second highest vaccination rate behind Delaware County in Central Ohio.
Statewide, 49.52 percent of Ohio’s total population has completed the vaccination process.
Currently, those 12 and older are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine (though only the Pfizer vaccine is available to those under the age of 18). Of the Lake County residents eligible to receive the vaccine, 65 percent have completed the process. Statewide, 57.88 percent of those 12 and older have completed the vaccination process.
More children could soon be eligible to receive the vaccine. Pfizer stated Sept. 20 that its vaccine works for those ages 5 to 11 and the company will soon seek authorization for that age group.
The Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks told the Associated Press earlier this month that once Pfizer turns over its study results, the agency would thoroughly evaluate the data “as quickly as we can so that at the end of the day, hopefully within a matter of weeks rather than a matter of months, we’ll be able to come to some conclusion.”
