Gov. Mike DeWine decided to address the state on Monday with a doctor from the Ohio Hospital Association. He detailed the latest issue hospitals are facing.
Just a few weeks ago, the Ohio Hospital Association said they are struggling to keep up with COVID-19 patients because much of the staff is getting sick. Hospital capacity wasn't an issue, but now it is. A record of over 5,000 people are in the hospital right now with COVID-19. 1,100 of those people are in the ICU. Hospitals are getting closer to making the decisions to stop elective procedures once again. An Ohio State doctor said rural area hospitals are facing the most pressure.
"A third of the patients across the state that are in an ICU have COVID," said Andy Thomas, chief clinical officer at OSU Wexner Medical Center. "One out of every three patients on a ventilator across the state have COVID. That's called 'crowding out.' They're essentially going to start 'crowding out' other people who need that level of care, if we see these numbers continue to rise. The reality is hospitals are making difficult decisions about delaying care."
If the FDA approves emergency use of a Coronavirus vaccine, DeWine said Pfizer's shipment could be in Ohio Dec. 15. Moderna's would come the Dec. 22.
