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Updated May 12, 2023WCHD COVID CALL CENTER: For questions and reporting positive tests, call: 419-292-6100
U.S. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Expires May 11, 2023
Based on current COVID-19 trends, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ended the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 on May 11, 2023.
What Does the End of the Public Health Emergency Mean for You?
Most tools you use to fight COVID, including vaccines, treatments and testing, will continue to be widely available. But some tools, including certain data sources and reporting, have changed.
Vaccines will remain available. Access to COVID-19 vaccines will generally not be affected for now. Wood County Health Department is continuing to offer free COVID vaccines at Health Department Clinics on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3-6 p.m. Note that there is no clinic scheduled for Monday, May 29 in honor of the Memorial Day holiday.
Free COVID-19 at-home tests continue to be available at Wood County Health Department. Other sources of free COVID tests can be identified through the CDC’s No Cost COVID-19 Testing Locator, found at this link: https://testinglocator.cdc.gov/. Insurance providers will no longer be required to waive costs or provide free COVID-19 tests, so you may be charged a co-pay when scheduling testing through pharmacies and healthcare providers.
Treatments will remain available. Medication to prevent severe COVID-19, such as Paxlovid, will remain available for free while supplies last. After that, the price will be determined by the medication manufacturer and your health insurance coverage.
Reporting of COVID-19 data will change. Wood County Health Department, along with the Ohio Department of Health and the CDC will continue to track metrics that help monitor COVID-19 metrics at the local, state and national level. Some data previously reported is no longer available due to changes to reporting requirements. The CDC has ceased reporting COVID-19 Community Levels. Local cases and hospitalizations are reported below.
We know what works to protect against COVID. Everyone six months and older should be vaccinated, and individuals should get the latest booster when eligible, use an at-home test if you’re exposed to COVID or have symptoms and stay home if you’re sick.
COVID-19 Data
Due to recent changes in COVID-19 reporting related to the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, Wood County Health Department will only report COVID-related hospitalizations going forward. Additional national and state data sources are also linked below.
Wood County COVID-19 Hospitalizations
Wood county hospitals reported:
No hospitalization due to COVID-19 during the week of May 18 to May 24.
35 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 year to date in 2023.
State and National COVID-19 Data
Ohio COVID-19 Dashboard: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/home
CDC COVID Data Tracker: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home
Self Help Resources
Click on the link to the right to find tools to help you understand what to do if you test positive for COVID, have close contact with someone who is sick or determine if you need a booster.