CINCINNATI —

Monday will be filled with the symphony of classic July 4 celebration sounds: The pop of fireworks, the sizzle of the grill, the splash of a cannonball at the pool and music thanks to a local parade.

While the ‘wow factor’ of fireworks has been appealing to people for generations, local doctors once again remind people to be safe especially if using pyrotechnics from their own private celebrations.

WLWT spoke with TriHealth’s Dr. Jaclyn Jansen who works in the emergency room at Bethesda North Hospital. She said that July 4 weekend typically sees higher amounts of traumatic injuries, especially as it relates fireworks-related injuries.

“Oftentimes we see adults who have a firework in their hand,” Jansen said. “They like the firework and the firework goes off in their hands, that causes a very traumatic injury that results in many, many surgeries," she said. "As kids to go, that's probably more likely burn, injury from sparklers, that sort of thing. And then always make sure if you are lighting fireworks that you have an area of safety around those fireworks. Oftentimes the bottle rockets and those sorts of injuries, they don't go exactly where we think. And you don't want to be one of those people who's caught on the sidelines."

With Ohio's new firework law now in effect, which makes it legal for people to purchase and use consumer-grade fireworks in certain areas, medical professionals have been bracing for an increase in emergency room visits.

Jansen said people should not let the temptation of trying to capture of snazzy social media video distract them from acting safely.

"The TikTok videos are a lot of fun, but it's not fun to spend your day with us," Jansen said. "Oftentimes we have really long waits at all of the emergency departments just because it's a high utilization weekend. And as much as I enjoy seeing you guys, it's not a great weekend if you come see me. So be safe and enjoy your weekend."

Is the pandemic over or not?

President Joe Biden sparked the debate when he declared it is, then Dr. Anthony Fauci quickly disputed the claim.

“I think the truth is somewhere in between,” said TriHealth infectious disease expert Dr. Stephen Blatt. “I do think it’s time we learn to live with this virus.”

Blatt said dealing with the pandemic and with the virus are two different things.

“I think it’s going to be really hard to define when the pandemic ends because we’re going to be dealing with this virus forever,” Blatt said.

“I think we’re moving in the right direction. I don’t think we’re there yet,” said the Health Collaborative’s Tiffany Mattingly.

Right now, in this region, there are 177 people in local hospitals with COVID-19, 20 are in the ICU and six are on ventilators.

That compares with the peak when there were 1,033 people in local hospitals with COVID-19, 196 in the ICU and 141 on ventilators.

“Part of the question is, what does it mean that the pandemic is over? It doesn’t mean COVID has gone away," Mattingly said.

CINCINNATI —

Hospitals jammed with the highest number of COVID-19 patients on record are beginning to get some relief as the Ohio National Guard arrives and reinforcements of a different kind step up to the task.

The National Guard sent 70 troops to UC Hospital to help out in several clinical and non-clinical roles. They add to the 20 already there to help with the testing efforts.

The troops are needed because of the high number of COVID-19 patients and the high number of staff out because of COVID-related issues.

There are also other efforts to reinforce hospital health care workers.

"Our teams are doing a great job, but our teams are tired. It’s been a tough couple of years," said vice president and chief nursing officer for the Good Samaritan region at TriHealth.

TriHealth has a program called Helping Hands that puts more nursing staff in the hospital.

"We've reached out to these other areas which could be our physician practices or anyone that's not working at the bedside that can come in and help," Macy said. "We can use these resources anywhere because it's going to help in all of our units."

So far, about 100 nurses have stepped up to help out.

St. Elizabeth has a similar program that recruits nurses from outside the hospital to help relieve the pressure of the staffing situation.

"If there are opportunities for folks who do not have front-line patient care jobs, if there are opportunities for them to volunteer and help, we're asking them to do that at this point," said St. Elizabeth COVID Dr. Jim Horn.

CINCINNATI —

A local professor who studies misinformation about vaccines on social media is adding new insights into the concerns by President Biden that the myths are “costing lives.”

“There are groups of individuals that are doing the work to try to create misinformation, propaganda for various reasons, even monetary reasons,” said Northern Kentucky University's Dr. Traian Marius Truta.

Truta is a professor of computer science, and since 2018, has studied vaccine misinformation spread by social media. Truta said determining exactly how much of an impact misinformation has is hard to quantify.

“Social media plays a huge role in spreading misinformation however, social media also plays an important role in eliminating misinformation,” Truta said.

One myth that gained traction on social media was that the vaccine had a tracking device, another myth claimed that the vaccine made people magnetic. Truta said the most ridiculous claims are believed by fewer people.

“There are some, but very few. I doubt there are very many that are not taking their vaccine because of those claims,” Truta said.

Social media is only one part of the complex misinformation issue. Even if it is hard to measure, the impact is apparent to many doctors.

“The medical community and the scientific communities are trying to get good scientific information out there but it’s a constant uphill battle when things are coming from all different sources that are untrue,” said TriHealth medical director for infectious diseases Dr. Stephen Blatt.

Overdramatizing actual side effects is another form of misinformation and is sometimes very effective. Blatt said false claims that sound like they could be real are also hard to stop.

“One of the ones that’s come up recently is that the COVID vaccine interferes with fertility in men in women. That’s not true. The vaccines are very safe, even in pregnant women and they don’t cause infertility and that’s important to know,” Blatt said.

President Biden and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy are calling on social media platforms to do more to reign in misinformation about vaccines.

“We know that health misinformation harms people’s health. It costs them their lives,” Murthy said.

CINCINNATI — The Christ Hospital Health Network is the latest hospital system to announce staffing changes and pay cuts due to COVID-19.

Christ announced on Friday that it will cut pay by 25% for executive leadership and redeploy other employees into new roles.

“Doctors, advanced practice providers, nurses and all other caregivers who are directly on the front lines, providing patient care in the fight against COVID-19, will be fully supported and financially protected at 100% of pay," Christ spokesman Bo McMillan wrote in a statement. "All employees not on the front line will be re-deployed as much as possible or will be guaranteed financial stability at 75% of regular wages for the next month."

In addition to hospitals in Mt. Auburn and Liberty Township, Christ operates more than 100 medical centers and physician practices throughout the Cincinnati area.

“As we are preparing for the surge in COVID-19 cases, we, like all other hospitals, have simultaneously been forced to manage a decline in patient volumes, as most non-urgent, non-emergent services have been halted,” McMillan wrote. “We will continuously re-evaluate this pandemic staffing model as the situation evolves over the next few, critical weeks.”

Hospital systems across the region are struggling financially due to the elimination of elective surgeries and routine doctor visits put in place by government leaders to halt the spread of COVID-19.

This week Bon Secours Mercy Health announced furloughs for 700 employees — or 1% of its 60,000 staffing base — which became effective on Friday. The furloughs are expected to last 30 to 90 days.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented demand for health care services, while simultaneously causing an unprecedented decline in other services and work within Mercy Health," Mercy spokeswoman Nanette Bentley wrote in a statement. "In response, we are acting quickly to redeploy or temporarily furlough associates who are unable to work due to temporary closure, cancellation and low census in primary care, outpatient and surgical services."

Mercy Health, the largest health system in Ohio, announced pay changes for some of its doctors last week.

“If your productivity declined significantly, we will reduce your base draw commensurate to 70% of your historical average productivity. At this time, we do not anticipate needing to reduce your base draw below 70%," according to an email obtained by WCPO.

TriHealth President and CEO Mark Clement notified employees of a 20% pay cut for senior leaders during the same week.

There are also changes at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which temporarily closed locations in Eastgate, Mason and Northern Kentucky as a result of COVID-19.

"In addition, all elective surgeries and some appointments have been canceled to help build capacity for a potential COVID-19 surge," according to Cincinnati Children's senior director of external relations Libby Coulton. "As a result, many of our employees are being re-assigned to other locations. And some may be temporarily released from their duties."