Ohio to Host Vaccine Town Halls Online

The Ohio Department of Health is hosting four Town Halls specifically about the COVD-19 vaccines. These events are designed to help your patients sift through the myths and learn where to find reliable, trustworthy information about the vaccines. While all Ohioans are invited to attend any Town Hall, the plan is for focused outreach at each event.

Monday, February 22 – African American Ohioans

Tuesday, February 23 – Hispanic/Latino Ohioans

Monday, March 1 – Asian American and Pacific Islander Ohioans

Tuesday, March 2 – Rural Ohioans

Each will be held at 6:30 pm and livestreamed on the ODH website, on Facebook, and YouTube.

More information, including fliers for your office, is available here.

State Develops Centralized Vaccine Registration Website

Gov. Mike DeWine announced this week that Ohio’s centralized scheduling website has been created, and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is now working with vaccine providers to enroll them in the system. The website will serve as a singular location for Ohioans to confirm that they are eligible to be vaccinated, identify nearby providers, and schedule their vaccine appointment.

Ohio and approximately 40 other states chose not to use the centralized system that the federal government intended to develop. Instead, Ohio chose to build its own centralized scheduling system. Despite the significant build time and configuration, the system was built within Ohio's intended timeframe. 

ODH will work directly with vaccine providers to integrate their current systems into the statewide system and assist them in working through current waitlists to potentially integrate these commitments into the centralized system. Providers will be expected to use this system as Ohio looks to the future, and guidance will be provided in the near future regarding deadlines. 

Vaccine eligibility opened this week to Ohioans born with certain medical conditions or those who were diagnosed in early childhood whose conditions continued into adulthood. The medical conditions are listed here.

Ohio launched its COVID-19 Vaccine Maintenance Program for nursing homes and assisted living facilities this week. Each month, facilities can host a vaccine clinic for residents and staff if there is the need for vaccinations. The program ensures that vaccinations in long-term care facilities continue for new residents and staff or current residents and staff who have now decided to be vaccinated. 

For more information see the COVID-19 Vaccination Workgroup handout from the meeting on Wednesday and the latest issue of the Ohio Vaccine Preparedness Office Weekly Update.

Case Rates Remain High, But Dropping

As of yesterday, there were 947,389 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 16,611 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. 93 percent of the fatalities were among those age 60 and over.

A total of 49,061 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 7,002 admissions to intensive care units. Hospitalizations have fallen 68% during the past two months. For comparison, yesterday there were 1,516 hospitalizations, while some days in December saw more than 5,300 patients hospitalized as daily cases regularly exceeded 10,000. Yesterday’s new case count was 2,282.

In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov. 

Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, said he expected the B.1.1.7 UK variant would become Ohio’s dominant variant by late March early April. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are effective against this variant. According to the CDC, no other foreign virus variants, including those from Brazil and South Africa, have been reported in Ohio.

Last Call!
Student Chat Tomorrow

Don’t miss out on this opportunity!

The OOA Board of Trustees is hosting a Zoom chat for osteopathic medical students tomorrow following the quarterly Board meeting. The small group discussions offer informal discussion about the OOA, the profession, and any questions students might have. The event begins at noon.

Spots are limited! Register here.

License Renewal Update

HB 404 was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine on November 23. The provisions related to the extension of the COVID-19 emergency are effective immediately:

• Medical Board licensees who have licenses set to expire during the period of emergency (March 9, 2020 – April 1, 2021) now have until July 1, 2021, to renew their license.
• Medical Board hearings and meetings can continue to be conducted electronically. The board must provide at least 24 hours advance notice of a meeting to the public, media who have requested advance notice and any parties required to be notified.

Whether you renew now or at a later date, your next license renewal date will not change.

For more information, see the State Medical Board document or contact License@med.ohio.gov.

CompManagement has a New Name

The OOA’s workers’ comp group rating program will remain a member benefit, but instead of CompManagement, it is under Sedgwick starting March 1.

Sedgwick’s commitment to Ohio employers remains as strong as ever. With more than 3,000 colleagues in Ohio, they will continue to offer the best workers’ compensation program solutions to help you mitigate risk and reduce costs.

There will be no staff changes as a result of this merger. You can learn more about Sedgwick — a leading global provider of technology-enabled risk, benefits and integrated business solutions — at sedgwick.com.