In November 2020, with the state of Ohio heading towards a COVID hospitalization peak of 5,308 (December 15 daily count, Ohio Hospital Association), the Bluffton Icon talked with Dr. William Kose about how individuals can prevent spread of the virus. Kose is an internist in Findlay, Ohio and Vice President for Special Projects at Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS).

This week we talked with Dr. Kose about the current surge. On September 27 the state of Ohio had a daily count of 3,742 COVID patients hospitalized, the highest such count since the introduction of COVID vaccines.

How is local access to healthcare being impacted by the current COVID surge?

Dr. Kose: Everyone is running much closer to capacity. I’m not saying that we can’t transfer people but the big hospitals where there are things that we don’t do [at BVHS and Bluffton Hospital], … they’ve had capacity problems. It makes it more difficult to use their expertise, which is more technical.

We have a working relationship with Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. They’ve been at pretty much maximum capacity. So we’re trying to figure out how we can take care of those [children] if needed.

We can’t get reagents to do [COVID] testing as quickly as we would like. The whole supply chain has been a problem. 

We have people quarantined that can’t work. We’re already short staffed; we’re no different than any other healthcare system. Our biggest concerns right now are related to those two things, having enough staff and having bed capacity.

COVID is sometimes compared to the flu. As a physician, how would you compare them?

Dr. Kose: Even though there are different variants of [the flu] most people have some natural immunity to take care of it. The other thing is influenza doesn’t attack the body like COVID has been seen to do.

With influenza in children or in young adults, we didn’t see it causing problems in the heart, we didn’t see the problems with blood clotting that have occurred with people that have gotten COVID. 

From the tip of your toes to your head, COVID has had the propensity to attack it.

And then we’ve had the whole problem of the cytokine crises, where our bodies have overreacted and gone into multiple kinds of problems, the shutdown of organ systems, of heart, lungs, et cetera, with high fevers. Again, things we didn’t see with flu.

How easy is it to get vaccinated for COVID?

Dr. Kose: It’s really easy, through pharmacies and through public health departments. (Text your ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find locations near you.)

[The vaccine] has demonstrably showed that it reduces how sick you get, whether you need to be in the hospital, whether you’re on a ventilator, and whether you die…. But still people with the vaccine can get [COVID] and spread it to other people, so we’re still trying the public health modalities of keeping people at home, quarantining them, wearing masks, washing your hands, et cetera. 

I get a lot of questions about the booster. I think people are going to need boosters; I’m not sure when. I would say, though, that those over the age of 65, those immune-suppressed, should get a booster.

Many of us have been taught to soldier on when we don’t feel well. When is it time to get tested for COVID?

Dr. Kose: If you have any fever and if you have respiratory symptoms, we’re advising people to get tested for COVID. 

I think these home tests are accurate. The one where you use your cell phone, they walk you through it and they document what you have. You can use that to get back to work.

Your primary care physician will order a COVID test. Here at the Findlay hospital and at the Bluffton hospital, we’re running the test (by appointment) and then we’ll get back to your primary care doctor with the results.

For more information

If you are sick or exposed to COVID-19, talk to your physician. You can also get further information from your county department of health (Allen County Board of Health) and the Centers for Disease Control (See symptoms and exposure).