COLUMBUS, Ohio — The COVID-19 variant first identified in the U.K. is spreading fast in the U.S. The CDC says it’s now the predominant variant across the Eastern U.S. and even here in the Midwest.
The U.S. is on the brink of a so-called fourth wave of COVID-19. Experts are citing multiple reasons for that, from eased restrictions and people being just plain exhausted from following protocols for protection.
Another big piece of this puzzle is variant B.1.1.7.
“This virus is, it's a bit more sticky, if you will, then other variants of the virus, meaning that if you come in contact with it, it's more likely to kind of stick to the cells that will then make you sick,” said Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, the chief quality and patient safety officer at OSU Wexner Medical Center. “It doesn't make you more sick necessarily. It's not necessarily different in terms of its responsiveness to therapies or to vaccines, but it's easier for us to transfer it from one individual to the next.”
Gonsenhauser has been at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 misinformation across Ohio and explaining trends throughout the pandemic.
One trend we’re seeing right now is a rise in cases in states neighboring Ohio, including Michigan. In the first three weeks of March, the state’s health department said COVID hospitalizations jumped more than 600% for people in their 30s and 800% for those in their 40s.
“It's not a group that has had significant vaccination just yet,” Gonsenhauser. “At the same time, it is a group that is really tired of restrictions and precautions and feels a bit more invulnerable to the virus so they've relaxed some of their precautions a little bit prematurely, more than other groups.”
As Ohio rushes to vaccinate the rest of the adult population, the question remains: just how long will these shots protect people from a virus that’s now killed 555,000 Americans.
“Six months seems to be sort of the minimum that people are pointing to and some data suggests that up to a year of immunity can be expected at this point,” he said.
Vaccine passports is another hot-button COVID-19 topic of the moment with passionate arguments for and against the COVID-19 vaccine documentation.
That includes here in Ohio where Republican lawmakers are working to prevent any vaccine passport program from coming to the Buckeye State.
“I think it's anybody's guess as to what's going to happen, there's certainly merit and utility practically speaking for what you can potentially do with demonstrating your vaccination status,” he said. “It really does create the sort of two-class system and we have to think about what everybody's access to vaccines is right now. We certainly don't want something like that to become something that pushes even further inequity. We're already seeing some of that, obviously, at play in the COVID response.”
Nearly 3 million white Ohioans have started the vaccine process, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
That number drops to only 255,000 in the Black community or less than 17% of the population.