Ohio Department of Health
Ohio declares monkeypox ‘significant public concern’ but still offers no testing or vaccine plan
I set out to write a follow-up opinion piece to my July 13 article on Ohio’s lackluster response to the monkeypox virus outbreak, mostly focused on the fact that we now have more than 4,000 vaccine doses and an increasingly frustrated public of gay men watching other states roll out vaccines. But I stumbled across […]
Monkeypox is spreading but the Ohio Department of Health hasn’t spread the message
It may come as a surprise to most people in Ohio that in addition to dealing with the ongoing problem of COVID-19 ebbs and flows of infections and variants, we actually have an entirely different infectious disease to be concerned about: monkeypox. And the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has done very little else to […]
Formula shortage exposes familiar weakness in our safety net
Last week, the Ohio Department of Health requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services allow greater flexibility in its social assistance programs around baby formula. The program the Ohio Department of Health is most interested in is the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, one of the […]
Latest Ohio abortion bill would promote experimental ‘reversal’ treatment
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. The right to abortion is arguably one of the most controversial […]
Sponsor claims bill would bring ‘safer abortions’
A physician and co-sponsor of an abortion bill said the legislation could bring about safer abortion procedures for those choosing to have them. Senate Bill 157’s aim is to create a database of what bill sponsors call “botched abortion” cases and criminalize physician inaction. Doctors who don’t follow the proposed law could face first-degree felony […]
Abortion rates rise in Ohio despite efforts to ban it
Over the last year, state data shows that abortions have risen in Ohio despite several efforts to deepen regulations on the practice. The 2020 “induced abortions” report from the Ohio Department of Health shows terminated pregnancies increased by 3% from 2019 to 2020. Since 2000, however, there has been a steady decline in abortions, about […]
COVID-19 in schools: details on the ODH prevention guide
Coming alongside renewed calls from the CDC for mask wearing, even by the vaccinated, the Ohio Department of Health laid out ways in which K-12 schools should be preventing COVID-19 in the upcoming school year. With no requirement for masks included in the recommendations, announced on Monday, the Ohio Department of Health is counting on […]
New guidance for schools on COVID-19 won’t include mask mandate
The Ohio Department of Health said new COVID-19 guidance for schools as they plan for a new school year will include safety recommendations, but no mandate for mask-wearing, even for the unvaccinated. In a press call on Monday, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, chief medical officer for the ODH, said guidelines would be released on the state’s […]
Latest increase in cases, hospitalizations has Ohio health officials pushing vaccines
Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff acknowledges that as the public face of the Ohio Department of Health he is repeating himself a lot these days. But the message is important enough to continue repeating in simple terms, ODH’s chief medical officer said Wednesday. “It really comes down to, are you vaccinated and safe or are you unvaccinated […]
States follow Ohio’s lead in announcing their own vaccine lotteries
What some Ohio lawmakers saw as a wasteful gameshow gimmick, other governors saw as an opportunity. It took only a few weeks after Gov. Mike DeWine announced the Vax-A-Million for other states to introduce their own vaccine lottery programs. There are cash prizes in Oregon, music festival tickets awarded in Delaware and even custom rifles […]
History Thursday: 1955 rollout of polio vaccine resembles COVID-19 era
The thousands of “Polio Pioneers” in Ohio, one official said, were short in stature but giants went it came to being medical trailblazers. These were children in Richland and Montgomery counties who participated in a polio vaccine trial in 1954, with a nation desperate for a breakthrough against a disease that killed thousands and left […]
Dental care remains neglected in state, nation
One of the leading health care needs in the state of Ohio is one that’s most neglected, especially when it comes to low-income communities. As dental director at the Cincinnati Health Department and as part of the CincySmiles dental clinic program, Dr. Larry Hill’s major task was making sure low-income and high risk populations had […]