Lots of questions and feelings about the current state of COVID-19, masks, variants and vaccines so let’s dig in!
First vaccines. They are now available to everyone 12 years of age and older. To find vaccination sites near you, search vaccines.gov, text your zip to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233.
Vaccines continue to be offered via public health departments, hospital systems and some private industry (pharmacies). A complete list of vaccine providers can be found here: https://vaccine.coronavirus.ohio.gov./
Yes - I do recommend getting vaccinated! I honestly weigh the risks and benefits of anything I recommend and I have not encountered a situation where the natural COVID infection provides less risk than vaccination.
Masks. Although the mask mandate has been lifted, you should still continue to wear your mask in places that require or recommend it, especially indoors. These are typically decided based on the risk of gathering people from multiple households of a variety of ages, health risks and vaccination statuses. Keep in mind the relative risk of various environments: Large gathered crowds > small distanced gatherings of multiple households > outdoor distanced activities as an example and continue to layer protections that are reasonable to you. These may include distancing, masks, not touching commonly used surfaces, frequent handwashing, etc..
So, the Delta Variant… we are highly recommending that you get the COVID-19 vaccine to help protect yourself and others from getting infected. Research has shown that the Delta Variant is more contagious and has a higher transmissibility when compared to other variants. It is not necessarily more or less ”serious” in its ability to cause severe disease, but it tends to carry a higher infectious viral load (your body has to deal with a bigger dose at once) which is more difficult for the immune system. With this info, unvaccinated individuals still remain our biggest concern.
What we know right now is that vaccinated individuals are much less likely to be hospitalized, need ventilators or die if infected with COVID-19. Much like other viruses, our goal is not to guarantee we never get a virus. In fact the role of a vaccine is to quickly neutralize the virus when you are exposed. Our ultimate goal is to guarantee that the virus doesn’t cause long-term problems or death when you do get it and the vaccine is performing well in this way.
Columbus Health Department COVID-19 and Vaccine information is located here including links to other local health departments if you fall outside of the Columbus area.
Franklin County Public Health Department information can be found here.
Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 Vaccine info is located here including links to local health department information and CDC vaccine-related information for those outside the Columbus/Franklin County area.
Review the tips on making the vaccine the safest and most comfortable possible here.
Watch this video with Dr. Paige and Dr. Robin discussing the latest updates on COVID-19.
Hope this update is helpful! Connect with us on social and send questions our way!
