COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio doctors, including the state’s medical director and the president of the Ohio Medical Association, say it’s more important than ever for pregnant women to get vaccinated.
Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said the majority of pregnant women across the country are unvaccinated and are at an increased risk for severe disease.
According to Dr. Vanderhoff, who cited the CDC, 97% of pregnant women hospitalized with COVID are unvaccinated.
Doctors are seeing the consequences in ICUs right here in Ohio.
"There is a 70% increased risk of death when you have COVID-19 when you're pregnant,” said Dr. Kamilah Dixon, assistant professor of OB-Gyn at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, “and that number alone is terrifying for those of us who take care of pregnant people in Ohio."
Dr. Lisa Egbert, an Obstetrician/Gynecologist and president of the Ohio State Medical Association, shared more about what doctors are seeing in the ICUs when it comes to unvaccinated pregnant women.
“In August, we noticed the highest rate of maternal deaths since COVID started and that's all because of delta,” said Dr. Egbert. “Delta is so much more infectious, and it's taken out our young, healthy pregnant women.”
Dr. Egbert went on to say she doesn’t want pregnant women and their partners to be in a position where they have to ask if their life is at risk, or the life of their baby.
“Imagine what it's like for that young dad when he has to risk delivering a preterm baby to save his wife,” she said. “And even then he still may lose either his wife or his baby, or even worse, both. And sadly, we've seen it right here in our ICU in Ohio.”
A sign of hope was also discussed at Monday’s Ohio Department of Health media briefing.
“Thankfully, we are seeing early indicators, the cases appear to be peaking and beginning to point toward a decline,” said Dr. Vanderhoff.
He said he is hopeful we are heading in a direction that will show more declining cases.
“I don't hang my hat too much on what I hope will be,” he said. “I prefer to look at the evidence and the science, which tells me, ‘you know, what, if I'm vaccinated, I can sort of check that box and feel pretty confident that I'm going to be protected against the severe outcomes of this illness.’”
Dr. Vanderhoff also explained there will be updates to the state’s coronavirus dashboard beginning Monday.
“Starting this afternoon, there will be a new drop down menu that will show how many Ohioans have received additional doses,” he said. “Secondly, we often receive questions about vaccination amongst specific age groups that are not currently listed on our dashboard, particularly for school aged Ohioans ages 12 to 17. This information also will now be available as a new dashboard under the vaccine tab.”
The dashboard will also now track the number of Ohioans with re-infections now that the case definition has broadened to include those who might be re-infected with the virus.
“This updated definition provides better insight into the real spread of COVID-19 across our communities,” he said.
You can watch Monday’s briefing in the player below:
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