Despite declining COVID numbers, community spread still a threat wkyc.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wkyc.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PIXABAY
Following Gov. Mike DeWine s announcement Monday of the easing of face mask mandates, Summit County Health Commissioner Donna Skoda stresses that masks will still be required for some people and in certain situations.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that the state is lifting the mask mandate for people who are vaccinated. The top health official in Summit County says that doesn’t mean a complete end to mask wearing in her county.
Health Commissioner Donna Skoda emphasizes that the new mandate only applies to those who are vaccinated and that those who are not are still at risk for contracting and spreading the virus. She says businesses have the right to mandate masks for that reason.
Vaccines are becoming more accessible to minority populations as pop-up sites enter their communities.
Ohioans of color are not getting vaccinated at the same rates as other populations. A Kent State University geographer has found mass vaccination locations have not always been convenient for these populations.
Summit County Public Health is moving away from mass vaccination sites by adding vaccine pop-up locations in neighborhoods with dense populations who may not have access to reliable transportation. But Health Commissioner Donna Skoda notes that transportation wasn’t the only barrier these populations were facing.
“What’s interesting to us is that it’s almost like a culture of not leaving their neighborhood,” she said.
Summit County will start administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine again on Saturday, May 1, 2021, now that the pause on its use has been lifted.
Vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson were temporarily paused earlier this month while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration studied the possibility of blood clots as a side effect.
The FDA concluded on April 23 that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks and approved it for emergency use.
The agency announced that the vaccine is safe but that health officials should monitor anyone getting the vaccine for blood clots. We have a responsibility to make sure the science is sound, so that people have confidence in the J & J, and all vaccines,” Summit County Health Commissioner Donna Skoda said in a statement.