TOLEDO, Ohio — Almost two years after COVID-19 first hit our shores, Ohio is still reporting thousands of cases daily. Tuesday tallied 4,952 cases. That's the highest single-day total since Oct. 14.
"It's been at a pace that makes it feel flat rather than decreasing," explained Dr. Brian Kaminski with ProMedica. "But we're definitely not on this steep incline that we had been months prior."
Kaminski said numbers are hanging out on the higher end. However, they're not necessarily increasing or decreasing.
The Ohio Department of Health said COVID-19 cases fluctuate by day. But when we see a higher number of cases, it means there's a higher level of community spread.
"Those people who are most susceptible are our unvaccinated population," Kaminski said. "We have roughly still about 40% of people that are vulnerable to getting COVID."
Community spread can be caused by easing up on prevention methods, such as masking in schools, more transmissible variants, like the delta variant, or low vaccination numbers.
Now that kids as young as five are eligible, more than 11,000 Ohioans received their first dose in the past 24 hours.
"We're not seeing a lot of people with repeat COVID, but they do exist out there. We do know that by measuring antibodies that the vaccine does fade over time," explained Dr. Kaminski. "It actually happens with natural occurring COVID as a disease, as well."
Kaminski said that's why it's important to get your booster dose now if you're able to, especially with the holidays coming up.