Council President-Elect Blaine A. Griffin's Statement on Cleveland's Covid Crisis

Dec 29, 2021

Cleveland is in a Crisis.
 
Our hospitals are at capacity. Our EMS is being overwhelmed with calls. We must pull together and do what we know helps. Masking, keeping a safe distance, and the most important thing is vaccinating.
 
Delta was already surging in the area and now a more infectious variant Omicron is in at least half of the cases. People in the 44102 and 44109 zip codes are experiencing the highest levels of COVID infections in the area. Others are not far behind. To view the dashboard, go to: www.clevelandhealth.org and click on the red DASHBOARD button.
 
Please do not call EMS for minor things. We must keep ambulances available for those experiencing heart attacks, strokes, COVID, and other major medical issues. Please, if you are calling because you can’t breathe from COVID, tell EMS. They must be prepared.
 
We understand residents are anxious and nervous about the new surge in COVID cases. The most important thing you can do is to get vaccinated and get the booster.
 
All the studies show the third shot adds extra protection, and if infected should help it to be milder and keep you out of the hospital.  All children 5 and older are all eligible for the vaccine.  
 
Too many are saying kids don’t get it or don’t get very sick. UH Rainbow & Babies Children’s Hospital is reporting a surge in children with COVID. Children are dying or being left with life-long issues. Please don’t let this be your child. (Rainbow doctors recently stated that the children being infected and hospitalized are often catching it from their unvaccinated parents and immediate family members.) The vaccines are safe. Some 240 million Americans and hundreds of millions more around the world have been vaccinated. We are all living proof that the vaccines are safe.
 
We want to thank our EMS and Paramedics who are continuing to do this hard work in trying times. Our community stands behind our EMS, Paramedics and all our First Responders who I’m sure, like us, thought when the vaccines came out a majority of Clevelanders and Ohioans would rush to get this lifesaving shot. But only 60% of Ohioans - and less than 50% of Clevelanders - have had two shots. We must all do our part in this fight against COVID.