COLUMBUS, Ohio — More younger people in Ohio are now being hospitalized for COVID-19 than at any other point during the coronavirus pandemic.
That was the message that Ohio Governor Mike DeWine shared during a Tuesday press briefing that focused on the impact that COVID-19 and its Delta Variant have had on area hospitals.
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Pointing to the state's COVID-19 data, DeWine noted that while the state had higher hospitalizations at previous points during the pandemic, more people under the age of 50 are being hospitalized than at any other point. The same can be said of people under the age of 39, with DeWine pointing to the lower vaccination rates among younger people, as well as the increased threat of the Delta Variant, as the primary reason why COVID-19 is hospitalizing more younger Ohioans than ever before.
"Our hospitals have more younger people in them today because of the fact that our vaccination rate among younger people is just a low lower," DeWine said. "When we're dealing with the Delta Variant, the Delta Variant is seeking out anyone who is not vaccinated."
DeWine went on to add: "Despite the fact that the total number of hospitalizations are currently lower than last year's peak pandemic surge, the numbers of younger people [hospitalized] have dramatically climbed.
"The bottom line is that we're seeing our highest numbers ever of hospitalizations of people under the age of 50. Throughout this pandemic, even in the rost of times, we were not seeing this many people, under 50, going into our hospitals."
In order to reverse this trends, DeWine, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff and multiple hospital leaders in the state encouraged younger Ohioans to get vaccinated.
You can watch the full press briefing in the video player below.