COVID-19 hospitalizations have jumped in Ohio during what's been a dramatic and confusing week for vaccine recommendations and requirements across the U.S.
The timing collides with the rollback of COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for nearly all populations by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., along with mass resignations at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and canceled vaccine research.
Top U.S. Democrats have called for Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who has no medical training and repeatedly spreads public health misinformation, to resign. Some Republican lawmakers also pushed Kennedy on vaccine claims and CDC decisions in a Sept. 4 committee hearing.
At the state level, Florida's surgeon general announced he was moving to abolish vaccine mandates, including for school children.
Where does Ohio stand with COVID-19 right now?
Aug. 28 through Sept. 3 saw 202 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Ohio, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health. It's one less hospitalization than the previous week, and more than double the two weeks before that.
In May, the state's health department debuted its new respiratory illness dashboard, replacing the old COVID-19 tracking dashboard with one that also includes respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza. The dashboard only tracks hospitalizations for these illnesses, while the previous dashboard tracked individual cases, among other data points.
However, case counts in 31 states, including Ohio, are on the rise as of Aug. 26, according to the CDC.
Could Ohio ban vaccine mandates?
There currently is no indication that Ohio will follow Florida. However, Ohio law allows for religious and philosophical exemptions to vaccines, and the rate of vaccinated kindergarteners in the Buckeye State is at a five-year low.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine's office said the governor had "no immediate comment" on Florida's announcement. In previous press conferences, Ohio Department of Health director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff has consistently supported vaccines and their effectiveness.
The Dispatch reached out to Dr. Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy, the top Democrat and Republican candidates for the 2026 governor's race, about the fellow red state's move. Ramaswamy's campaign did not respond to requests seeking comment, however Ramaswamy said in 2023 that he regretted getting the COVID-19 vaccine and that the U.S. government "lied" about the vaccines, which were developed under President Donald Trump during his first term.
Acton, a physician and previous state health department director, told The Dispatch, "This reckless decision endangers our children, and it's shameful behavior from any governor. These vaccines keep our children, families and communities safe."
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo said of vaccine mandates that "every one of them drips with disdain and slavery."
The American Medical Association condemned Florida's decision, saying in a statement that "this unprecedented rollback would undermine decades of public health progress and place children and communities at increased risk... resulting in serious illness, disability, and even death."
Dr. Mysheika Roberts, Columbus Public Health commissioner, said in an emailed statement that she is "disappointed that political points are overriding established science at the expense of the health and safety of children."
Roberts was one of the 17 CDC vaccine panelists ousted by Kennedy in June.
Medical business and health care reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at [email protected]