COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled a new way of looking at the coronavirus pandemic Thursday afternoon called the Public Health Advisory Alert System. The idea of the project is to help local health departments and Ohio residents get a better idea of where the virus is spreading.

The system is color-coded and shows which counties are doing better than others in containing the spread of COVID-19. Currently, Hamilton County is coded as red.

“It might be a surprise for people in that community,” DeWine said. “To say, ‘Okay, we’re red.’”

Colors are coordinated based on seven indicators, including hospitalizations and new cases of COVID-19, among others.

“It informs us, not just to put orders on where we restrict something,” DeWine said. “It informs us to be able to surge in for more resources, to try to turn the tide."

So what do the different color codes mean to residents?

Level 1: Yellow – Spread of the virus is limited. Typically, many rural counties are coded yellow.
Level 2: Orange – There’s an increased risk or exposure or spread. Orange counties have shown an increase in COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks.
Level 3: Red – People should limit activities as much as possible, and the governor asks that you wear a mask when in proximity to others.
Level 4: Purple - No Ohio counties are yet in level four, or purple, which suggests people should only leave home for supplies and services.

Hamilton and Butler Counties are currently coded as red.

“It indicates we can do better,” Hamilton County Medical Director Dr. Steve Feagins said. “We can use more masks. We can be cognizant of social distancing.”

Feagins said that, while Hamilton County is at the red level, residents should know, they’re on the low end of that scale.

“While we’re increasing at a bit of a faster rate, we’re still at a lower level of hospitals,” Feagins said.

DeWine said the new data will be used more effectively at the local level.

“It’s giving mayors and community members more information,” he said. “So they can make decisions. But it doesn’t mean that I’m not engaged. It doesn’t mean that I won’t in the future will make decisions,

He said people can use the map as a reference – to know in what parts of the state they should use more caution.

“We’re not going to be Florida,” DeWine said. “We’re not going to be Texas. We’re not going to be Italy. We’re not going to let this happen. This is a long battle. We won round one, maybe round two, but this is a 15-round heavyweight championship, and we have to stay in there and stay punching.”

CINCINNATI — Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended wearing masks indoors in areas experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases -- including for those who are fully vaccinated.

In Hamilton County, COVID-19 cases are rising. As of Tuesday, the Hamilton County Public Health Department said nearly 120 people were hospitalized due to the virus. Two weeks ago that number was closer to 40 on any given day.

Hamilton County Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman said to follow guidance from the Ohio Department of Health instead of federal leaders.

Mercy Health’s chief clinical officer, Dr Stephen Feagins, said the more contagious delta variant was able to become stronger as it spread among the unvaccinated.

“It is the dominant circulating strain. That was predicted,” Dr. Feagins said.

The CDC said studies show even vaccinated people may be able to spread it. That is why the team recommended Tuesday that people begin masking indoors even though they are fully vaccinated.

“While a break-though case of COVID on a vaccinated individual is still a reportable event, it's rare,” Dr. Feagins said.

Hamilton County Public Health is working to get more people vaccinated.

“We're seeing, in our hospital systems, a lot more 40- and 50-year-olds ending up in the hospital,” Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman said. “So, we want to make sure that we're getting the right messaging and the right information to those folks so they can make an informed decision.”

Local health departments had not changed mask recommendations as of Tuesday evening.

Some WCPO viewers have asked us if it’s safe to get a COVID-19 vaccine days before or after a surgery -- so we took the question to an expert.

“We certainly recommend the sooner you can get the vaccine the better,” said Dr. Steve Feagins, medical director for Hamilton County Public Health. “However, we do recommend if you're having surgery to wait 72 hours after the vaccine to avoid confusion with the surgery itself and side effects of the vaccine.”

Feagins said complications could develop if you've had anesthesia and try to get the vaccine too soon.

“Like everything else, it takes about three days to get everything out of your system, so waiting at least three days after surgery to to get the vaccine is very helpful," he said.

WCPO also asked why health care staff aren’t currently asking patients about to undergo a procedure if they’ve had a vaccination in the last few days.

“You know that's a great point. As we go forward and learn more -- not a bad thing to add to the list,” Feagins said.

WCPO 9 is taking your questions about COVID-19 vaccines and posing them to local health care experts. Email newsdesk@wcpo.com or message @KristynHartmanWCPO on Facebook with your name, neighborhood and question, and you could see an expert answer it on air.

CINCINNATI — A popular question asked of many medical experts right now is “When can we say the pandemic is over?” The answer isn’t what most people would expect.

“This will never be over,” said Dr. Steve Feagins, medical director for Hamilton County Public Health. “We will move from pandemic to endemic.”

That’s not as bad as it might sound. The answer is rooted in defining the difference between those two terms.

Feagins said a pandemic is an epidemic on multiple continents in which case spread is deadly and uncontained.

Endemic means something is always going to be around — like the flu — but the case numbers are manageable and do not rise above a certain level.

“For example, during the peak of the flu season, there are in this nation somewhere between 50 and 150 flu deaths a day for an average of 100,” Feagins said. “Today, there are an average of 600 COVID deaths per day. So, what is it we feel comfortable with? 300? 200? 600?”

He said it’s a case rate over death rate that determines when we will have moved from pandemic to endemic, not a number of people or percentage of people vaccinated.

“I was on a Zoom with Dr. Fauci and others where that very question was coming up, and it comes down to what we’re willing to endure,” Feagins said. “Universal mitigation is more difficult than the number of deaths. We don’t have a flu year-round — we just have those deaths during flu season. We’ll have the same with COVID.”