COVID Expert to Keynote Symposium

Infectious Disease Physician and COVID-19 Expert Joe Gastaldo, MD, will keynote the Ohio Osteopathic Virtual Symposium. Gastaldo serves as a COVID-19 point person at OhioHealth in Columbus where he is system medical director of infectious diseases.

The self-described “COVID warrior” is well-known to Central Ohio TV viewers in particular as he has been a constant source of information and science on local news since the start of the pandemic. In addition to countless TV, radio, and online interviews, he is featured in the new Don’t Hesitate. Vaccinate ad from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to reassure Ohioans the vaccines are safe, effective, and rigorously tested.

Gastaldo has worked on public health policy with ODH to develop a statewide plan around return-to-work guidelines, was an early adopter of steroid use for inpatients, and continues to be a frontline worker. He has become one of the most credible sources of information about COVID-19 because he stays on the forefront of treatments and vaccines.

Gastaldo’s presentation Getting to the End of the Pandemic is April 23 at 10:30 am.

Registration is open for the Ohio Osteopathic Virtual Symposium, the premier osteopathic conference in the state. The three-day virtual conference, April 23-25, offers 21 hours of Category 1-A credits and the latest in the art and science of patient care.

DeWine Sets Benchmark

In a statewide address to Ohioans last night, Gov. Mike DeWine urged Ohioans to remain committed to following COVID-19 safety practices as Ohio cases trend downward, and detailed the measurement needed to lift all Ohio Department of Health orders. 

He announced that when Ohio reaches 50 cases per 100,000 people for two weeks, all health orders will be lifted. Cases per 100,000 people for a two-week period is a measurement that the state has used since early in the pandemic. Ohio is currently at 179 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. For comparison, on December 3, Ohio was at 731 cases per 100,000 people over two weeks. That figure fell to 445 on February 3.

DeWine also noted the success that Ohio has seen recently in the COVID-19 pandemic. Ohio’s stay-at-home order and curfew have been lifted, and restaurants, bars and gyms are open. In February, Ohio vaccinated over 200,000 educators for students to return to in-person learning. As of yesterday, nearly 95 percent of Ohio’s K-12 students have returned to school for in-person learning. 

Ohio Vaccine Supply Increases with Janssen Approval; New Groups Now Eligible

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) last Saturday for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met the next day, February 28, and recommended the vaccine’s use. These steps paved the way for shipments to begin immediately.

This week, Ohio received more than 448,000 doses of all COVID-19 vaccine, the highest allocation to date. Of that total, more than 96,000 doses of the new Janssen vaccine were delivered to about 200 new independent pharmacy providers as well as chain pharmacies, hospitals, and health departments. Shipment quantities for the Janssen vaccine may vary over the next few weeks while production ramps up. Ohio now offers more than 1,200 provider locations.

As of this afternoon, nearly 1,872,000 people in Ohio have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, accounting for 16.01% of the state’s population. There have been 1,025,941 who have completed their vaccination.

On Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced, in response to the increased vaccine supply, expanded vaccine eligibility for Ohioans with Phase 1C and Phase 2, effective yesterday.

Phase 1C includes approximately 246,000 eligible Ohioans with certain occupations and with certain medical conditions not addressed in previous phases.

• Medical groups: Type 1 diabetes, pregnant women, bone marrow transplant recipients, ALS patients
• Occupations: child care services (approximately 40,400 Ohioans), funeral services (approximately 3,600 Ohioans), law enforcement and corrections officers and firefighters (approximately 76,000 Ohioans)

Phase 2 will open with more vaccine eligibility based on age, due to the risk of more severe reactions and outcomes of COVID-19 increasing with age. The first group eligible will be Ohioans age 60 and older. This group includes approximately 695,000 eligible Ohioans.

Ohio Department of Health guidance for providers for Phase 1C and Phase 2 is posted on the OOA COVID-19 resource page.

Mass Vaccination and Pop-Up Sites to Open Across Ohio

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced today that 15 long-term mass vaccination clinics will open throughout Ohio to significantly expand regional access to COVID-19 vaccines. These are in addition to an eight-week mass vaccination clinic to open March 17 in Cleveland with support from the Biden administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Cleveland site will have the capacity to administer 6,000 COVID-19 vaccines a day.

The state-sponsored mass vaccination clinics will be located in Lima, Maumee, Dayton, Columbus, Akron, Youngstown, Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Marietta, Wilmington, and Zanesville. Four mobile mass vaccination clinics will also make rounds in the areas of northwestern and west-central Ohio (Ada), southeastern Ohio (Athens), north-central Ohio (Mansfield), and east-central Ohio (Steubenville). 

The regional mass vaccination clinics, which will begin opening in the coming weeks as supply becomes available, will operate until they are no longer necessary. The sites will be locally operated with support from the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Clinics will be equipped to administer between 300 and 3,000 vaccines a day depending on location, supply, and demand. Ohio’s established vaccine providers can also expect to see an increase in their vaccine allotment as supply increases, and vaccine doses may also be allotted to new providers.

Any Ohioan who is eligible to receive the vaccine under the Ohio Department of Health’s vaccination plan may be vaccinated at any of Ohio's mass vaccination clinics. Ohio will also work closely with the clinics to ensure equitable access for high-risk residents and medically underserved communities that could be disproportionately impacted by the virus.

Several appointment-scheduling options will be available, including the use of Ohio’s forthcoming central scheduling system for some sites. The sites are not yet taking reservations, but specific instructions on how to book an appointment will be announced later this month. Dates of operation and hours will vary, but sites will offer both weekday and weekend appointments.

DeWine also announced today that 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine will be dedicated to two pop-up mass vaccination sites in Columbus and Cincinnati. The pop-up clinics will open shortly after the March 17 start date of Cleveland’s mass vaccination site and will offer 12,500 first doses at each location. Those vaccinated during the Columbus and Cincinnati pop-up mass vaccination sites will be guaranteed a second dose. Exact site locations are pending.

ODH Offers Free VMS Training

The Ohio Vaccine Management Solution (VMS) offered by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is designed to assist providers and patients with the vaccination process. This new website will soon be available assist providers with patient registration, scheduling, vaccine inventory, and clinic management. Ohioans will be able to use the site to determine vaccine eligibility and schedule an appointment.

Training videos and a user guide are available online. In addition, ODH is conducting free VMS 411 sessions this month to go over key questions and concerns, highlight best practices to capture data within the system, and receive provider feedback. New vaccine providers will be required to use the system.  

WHEN
Every Wednesday and Friday, 3:00-4:00 pm (ending Friday, April 2)

HOW TO JOIN
Online using Microsoft Teams: http://bit.ly/OhioVMA411

By phone: 872-215-2965 (phone conference ID: 739 278 746#)

One-click dial by phone: +1 872-215-2965, 739278746#

Helping Students: Shelter and Shadow

Many medical students scramble to find and pay for housing while doing rotations away from their home site. It’s a similar situation during residency interviewing season as the costs for transportation, lodging, meals, and application fees add up. The OOA is developing a list of physicians who can help these future colleagues and provide a free place to stay. 

For undergraduates, they often turn to the OOA looking for DOs to shadow. Many colleges of osteopathic medicine require prospective students to get to know a DO and request a letter of recommendation as part of the application process.

For more information and to sign up for either or both of these programs, see the Volunteer & DO Your Part page on the OOA website. 

Explore Your Options

If you’re considering another professional opportunity or just want to see what might be available, have a look at the OOA website. On the Jobs Forum you’ll find a listing of OOA’s institutional members with direct links to each organization’s vacancies.

If you’re a physician employer or work with a health care facility seeking a physician, you can advertise on this page. All listings appear for two months. Happy hunting!

Our PAC Works for You!

The Ohio Osteopathic Political Action Committee—also known as OOPAC—is another tool in our toolkit. OOPAC is made up of five osteopathic physicians from across Ohio and is pleased to kick off the OOPAC Challenge. This annual challenge pits the ten district academies against each other for fundraising supremacy, calculated in the aggregate but also per capita by district. 

OOPAC funds are derived from the generosity of our membership and entirely separate from your OOA dues. 

These funds are typically directed to legislative leaders, PACs for the four caucuses, and members of the Health Committees in both chambers. Other circumstances may extend those considerations.

OOPAC's primary goal is to help shape health care policy by educating legislators about health care issues and explaining how proposed legislation will affect our patients and the communities we serve. A strong PAC helps to open doors and strengthen the osteopathic voice at the Ohio Statehouse. Contribute today!