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 — Another hurdle has been removed for young teens to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 6 today, which relaxes the requirement that 12-year-olds bring prescriptions to certain COVID-19 vaccine clinics.

The bill, which went into effect immediately, also re-writes the Ohio rule requiring seven to 12-year-olds to show a prescription for a flu shot.

Now a 12-year-old can get the COVID-19 vaccine anywhere without a prescription as long as they have parent approval. The bill also makes this provision for 7- to 11-year-olds; however, the COVID-19 vaccine has not yet been approved for anyone younger than 12. Monday the FDA approved emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for children 12 to 15-years-old.

State Rep. Cindy Abrams co-sponsored the bill and said it was the pandemic that sparked the need to change the law.

"You don't need a prescription,” Abrams said. “You just need the parent or guardian there simply to sign off and say, ‘Yes, please administer the vaccine to my child.’ It just makes sense to have this fall in line with what's currently happening," she said.

The old provisions passed six years ago when pediatrician groups were concerned that younger kids should be getting their immunizations at the pediatrician's office as part of their well-child visits, according to the Ohio Pharmacy Board.

The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center vaccine clinics opened up to young teens this week, and doctors there have been doing their best to reach out to the public to answer any questions.

Twelve-year-old Sycamore Junior High School student James McKernan got his first dose at the Sharonville Convention Center on Thursday. His family talked about it, but, in the end, he was all in.

“I was like I really want to do this,” McKernan said. “I feel like in five weeks I can finally vacation again and go on play-dates and sleepovers. I think I'll be a lot more confident going to friends' houses and stuff."