The state also saw a rise in cases; for the second time in three days, Ohio reported more than 5,000 daily COVID-19 cases.
In the last day, the state recorded 5,379 cases, according to the Ohio Department of Health. On Wednesday, Ohio added 5,527 cases in a day. It was the first time more than 5,000 cases were reported in a day in Ohio in nearly a month.
The number of daily cases reported over the last four days are the four highest totals reported in three weeks. The slight increase in cases comes after weeks of a decline following a surge of cases due to the delta variant.
As of Friday afternoon, 20,749 cases of the virus have been reported in the county since the pandemic’s start, according to ODH.
CCCHD health planning supervisor Gracie Hemphill updated the community on the state of public health in the county during the district’s weekly livestream on Friday.
As of Friday afternoon, 46.6% of Clark County’s population has completed its vaccine series, according to ODH. The health district began vaccinating children aged 5-11 with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after it was authorized by the Centers for Disease Control this month. A total of 1,294 vaccines were administered to children in the 5-11 age group by the health district as of Friday afternoon, according to Hemphill.
“We absolutely do want everyone to get vaccinated so we can move on and move beyond COVID,” said Dr. Soumya Neravetla, the chair of the department of surgery at Springfield Regional Medical Center, said. “COVID gets a lot of prime real estate in what we’re thinking about and what we’re focusing on… and it’s important. Absolutely everyone should get vaccinated, everyone who is eligible.”
Neravetla also serves on the center’s lung cancer taskforce, and she joined the livestream to discuss lung cancer in Clark County.
Lung Cancer Awareness Month is recognized every November, and Neravetla said that lung cancer kills more people than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined.
Roughly 75% of patients at Springfield Regional Medical Center who have lung cancer are late stage patients, Neravetla said. She urged screening for lung cancer among people who are most at-risk: people who chronically smoke tobacco products and have for many years. Second-hand smoke is also a risk factor of lung cancer, and those who live in close proximity of people who smoke should also consider screening for lung cancer.
Smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, but it also increases the risk of other diseases and affects more than just a person’s lungs.
“It affects the rest of your body,” she said. “It increases your risk of strokes, heart attacks. It has a bad impact on your entire body.”
Information about smoking cessation programs can be found on the health district’s website.
“It’s never too late to stop smoking,” Neravetla said.
Neravetla also said that lung cancer is surrounded by a certain stigma that other cancer patients may not experience.
“Nobody deserves cancer,” Neravetla said. “Lung cancer is the villain of this story.”
By the Numbers:
46.6: Percentage of Clark County residents who have completed the COVID-19 vaccine series
20,749: Total number of coronavirus cases reported in Clark County
379: Total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Clark County
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