TOLEDO, Ohio — Restrictions removed. Numbers trending in the right direction in Ohio and Michigan. So, is the pandemic over?
No.
"Pandemic" is now a word so ingrained into our vernacular that it may not carry as much weight as a year ago. But let's not forget the definition: an outbreak over a wide geographic area. That is exactly why it's not over yet.
"The solution here is getting vaccinated and we're really fortunate in the United States that we have widespread availability of the vaccine," ProMedica Vice President of Quality & Patient Safety Dr. Brian Kaminski explained. "Not every country is that fortunate. There are many countries out there that simply don't have vaccines."
Kaminski points to countries like India and Vietnam where variants have caused recent surges.
But closer to home it's a far different picture.
Hospitalizations in Ohio are at their lowest since September and cases have bottomed out for the first time in more than a year. In Lucas County, there were just nine new cases reported Wednesday.
"You look at where we were a year ago when we had had that decline from the first wave and were entering the summer months -- we're lower than that," Kaminski said. "And I think the most important thing to point out is that this is just validation that the vaccine works."
With that said, cautious optimism remains as medical professionals still try to urge unvaccinated folks to get the shot.
"We can't say that there's no risk out there," Kaminski said. "We still have cases, so COVID isn't gone. But the good news is we're seeing many of the restrictions being removed and we're turning back to this more normal time that we remember prior to the pandemic."