The Curve: A race against the variants
Is the coronavirus on the run or is it gearing up for another surge?
Welcome back to another edition of The Curve: Pandemic news in your inbox.
The pace of COVID-19 vaccinations has increased across the U.S. But, so has the rate of new infections.
In Ohio, everyone over the age of 16 is newly eligible for the vaccine. With that being said, make a plan to get your shot now.
And now, the news.
⏱ The latest
A look at the picture in Ohio: Another 1,019 new cases reported
And here’s what things are like across the country: Latest case count in the U.S.
COVID-19: B.1.1.7 variant case jump in Ohio
Mutated coronavirus variants threaten to upend the progress made at lowering cases across the U.S. In Ohio, a strain first discovered in Great Britain appears to be taking off. At least 275 cases of the British variant have been found in Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch reports.
Columbus group creates website to help Ohioans find COVID vaccines
As the COVID-19 vaccine opens up to more Ohioans, a Columbus-based group of volunteers as created a website that’s designed to be a one-stop vaccination shop, I report in my latest story for The Columbus Dispatch. The website scrapes the websites of shot providers to compile appointment information. Ohioans can enter their zip code to find out where appointments are available.
Ohio Lt. Governor under fire for tweet calling COVID ‘Wuhan virus’
Ohio’s No. 2 leader is in hot water after a tweet in which he called the coronavirus the “Wuhan virus.” The virus is thought to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted’s tweet comes a few weeks after a man killed eight people —most of whom were Asian American— at multiple Atlanta spas. Many have called Husted’s tweet racist and tone deaf, reports Jackie Borchardt for the USA Today network’s Ohio Statehouse Bureau.
🗓 A year of COVID
Whether mourning a loved one or a lost job, Ohioans share tales of COVID's effects
In this story for The Columbus Dispatch, my colleague Ken Gordon tells the stories of people impacted by the virus. Many are still suffering symptoms of the virus even after recovering while others are still dealing with the fallout of losing a loved one to the pandemic. While it’s been one year since the virus first hit, the effects of the disease will likely last far longer, Gordon reports.
How to grieve the year we lost to the coronavirus when we still can’t gather
Despite the pandemic appearing to wane, mass gatherings are still discouraged and some are even prohibited around the country. For a story for The Columbus Dispatch, my colleague Danae King spoke to faith leaders about how people can cope with everything and everyone they’ve lost since March 2020.
📰 Good reads
COVID vaccines are available if people are willing to travel for them
For this story for The Columbus Dispatch, I talked to someone who drove hours to get a coronavirus vaccine. Many appointments across Ohio were opened to people under the age of 40 last week because they may have otherwise gone unfilled. While experts told me wider access may seem like a victory, in the long run it may mean there’s more hesitancy in certain areas of the state.
Vaccines and travel: What you need to know
As a larger share of the population becomes vaccinated, more questions are popping up about what it’s OK and not so great for them to start doing again. In this explainer, New York Times reporter Sarah Firshein goes into detail about exactly what experts recommend people should and shouldn’t do as they emerge from their homes.
More than 40 Ohioans being monitored for Ebola
In other infectious disease news, a virus you may have forgotten about made some headlines last week. An outbreak of the Ebola virus has been declared in some remote regions of Africa. Officials are monitoring more than 40 people for at least 21 days for symptoms of Ebola, I reported alongside my colleague Eric Lagatta in this story for The Columbus Dispatch.