Jan 5, 2022 - COVID

Unvaxxed members put Ohio National Guard's aid into question

Tyler Buchanan

An Ohio National Guard member puts on a rubber glove while helping at a COVID testing site. — A member of the Ohio National Guard puts on a fresh pair of gloves while serving at a pop-up testing site in northern Ohio in September 2020. Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Ohio has reached something of a paradox stage of the pandemic.

The state again set a new record for COVID-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday — 6,257, per the Ohio Hospital Association — a figure driven by unvaccinated Ohioans, leading to crowded hospitals and staff burnout.
Gov. Mike DeWine has responded by mobilizing the Ohio National Guard to assist these hospitals.

Yes, but: With nearly half of its members unvaccinated, it's unclear how much help the Guard can be.

By the numbers: Just 53% of the Guard's membership is vaccinated, per the Statehouse News Bureau, a few percentage points below the total state population.

Adjutant General John Harris Jr., who leads the Guard, is mandating that members be vaccinated by March 31.

State of play: DeWine had already deployed hundreds of Guard members to serve in hospitals in Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo. A Monday announcement of 1,250 additional members brings the total number asked to serve in health care facilities to 2,300.

Hundreds are also needed to assist with nearly a dozen mass testing sites being set up across the state.
The Columbus testing site is now open at the first floor of the parking garage at 2540 Olentangy River Road. Appointments are needed.

What they're saying: "End of March is a long time to wait to get ready, but I'm giving the soldiers the benefit of the doubt," Harris told the Statehouse News Bureau.

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Unvaxxed members put Ohio National Guard's aid into question

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