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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Columbus. Written by Tyler Buchanan and Alissa Widman Neese.

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What the Ohio State Fairgrounds may look like

Ohio plans to reimagine the entire 360-acre fairgrounds in Columbus.

News

Columbus homicides are trending up in 2023

Guns, more domestic violence are big factors, police say.

Local doll museum celebrates Barbie's legacy

Amid the movie hype, explore 64 years of Barbie history.

Columbus' biggest ice cream chains, ranked

Jeni's is beloved, but it can't dethrone Dairy Queen.

Food and Drink

Where to get a new COVID-19 shot in Columbus

The CDC recommends the shots for anyone over 6 months old.

The latest COVID-19 vaccines are slowly rolling out to Central Ohio health care providers — and while the situation isn&#x27;t as hectic as the early pandemic, you may need to search a bit for availability.Why it matters: COVID-related hospitalizations have continued rising throughout September as new variants of the virus emerge.

Illustration of virus cell with question marks around it

COVID hospitalizations are up in Ohio

A new variant, EG.5, may be causing the nationwide wave.

COVID

COVID-19 hospitalization rates across Ohio are ticking up amid a late-summer wave sweeping the country.Why it matters: Most Americans have put the virus in their rearview mirrors, leaving the nation both mentally and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="practically ill-prepared" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/04/covid-uptick-cases-hospitalization-future" data-vars-content-id="e0ce1093-3f0e-40d6-8e36-7ae776692ade" data-vars-headline="COVID hospitalizations are up in Ohio" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/04/covid-uptick-cases-hospitalization-future" target="_self">practically ill-prepared</a> for another surge of cases.

How politics impacted Ohio's COVID-19 deaths

Researchers found a gap in excess deaths between Ohio Republicans and Democrats.

Registered Republicans in Ohio experienced a &quot;significantly higher&quot; rate of excess deaths than Democrats in the months after COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available, new research has found.Why it matters: The study builds on growing evidence suggesting that a person&#x27;s political leanings could have been a COVID risk factor, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Rebecca Falconer writes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/07/25/covid-vaccine-death-rates-republicans-democrats-study" data-vars-content-id="872bd5f7-7621-4627-9f57-d461ab6d27cd" data-vars-headline="How politics impacted Ohio&#x27;s COVID-19 deaths" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/07/25/covid-vaccine-death-rates-republicans-democrats-study" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Rebecca Falconer writes</a>.

Protesters hold American flags and signs reading "Freedom" and "Freedom, No Mandates, No Vaccine"

Ohio may be home to world's longest COVID patient

Researchers are trying to use wastewater to find them.

If you live in Columbus and spend a lot of time in Washington Court House, scientists want to talk to you about your poop.What&#x27;s happening: An Ohio resident has been carrying a uniquely mutated strain of COVID-19 for at least two years, and researchers are trying to find them, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="WCMH-TV reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/mysterious-covid-strain-found-in-central-ohio/" data-vars-content-id="e5ab92dd-1a89-454e-a0b8-f5027cece1a7" data-vars-headline="Ohio may be home to world&#x27;s longest COVID patient" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/mysterious-covid-strain-found-in-central-ohio/" target="_blank">WCMH-TV reports</a>.

Illustration of a tiled wall with a COVID cell cut into a sheet of toilet paper on the roll.

Ohio hospitals take their masks off

The hospital policies were the final major COVID-19 restrictions in place locally.

Many local health care providers and their patients can now see each other&#x27;s faces again for the first time in roughly three years.What&#x27;s happening: Central Ohio&#x27;s three adult hospital systems — OhioHealth, Mount Carmel and OSU Wexner Medical Center — ended their COVID-19 mask mandates today for staff, visitors and asymptomatic patients.

Illustration of a covid particle reflected in a rearview mirror

Ohio recorded fewer COVID-19 deaths than most of the country

Ongoing research is still helping drive future crisis decision-making.

Ohio suffered among the lowest adjusted COVID-19 death rates in the country from 2020 to mid-2022, according to peer-reviewed medical journal <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The Lancet" data-vars-click-url="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00461-0/fulltext" data-vars-content-id="7f6f0b61-8f44-4e5d-8e1b-91a5d0e814b2" data-vars-headline="Ohio recorded fewer COVID-19 deaths than most of the country" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00461-0/fulltext" target="_blank">The Lancet</a>.Why it matters: More than three years since the beginning of the pandemic, ongoing research into state actions and outcomes is still helping to drive future crisis decision-making.

Charted: COVID-19 learning loss

Eighth grade math dropped the most, though all scores declined.

Nearly every state and public school district have seen math and reading scores among fourth and eighth graders decline since 2019, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new national test scores" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/" data-vars-content-id="1a12486e-668b-4624-8041-01f3525ad98c" data-vars-headline="Charted: COVID-19 learning loss" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/" target="_blank">new national test scores</a>.Why it matters: The results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed the Nation&#x27;s Report Card, are yet another illustration of the historic learning setbacks the pandemic caused, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Noah Bressner reports" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/29495386.2851/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tLzIwMjIvMTAvMjQvdGVzdC1zY29yZXMtbWF0aC1yZWFkaW5nLWNvdmlkP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9bmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1uZXdzbGV0dGVyX2F4aW9zbG9jYWxfbWlhbWkmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/613a2a7a257a5d5b302ffc1cC4b4dabeb" data-vars-content-id="1a12486e-668b-4624-8041-01f3525ad98c" data-vars-headline="Charted: COVID-19 learning loss" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/29495386.2851/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tLzIwMjIvMTAvMjQvdGVzdC1zY29yZXMtbWF0aC1yZWFkaW5nLWNvdmlkP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9bmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1uZXdzbGV0dGVyX2F4aW9zbG9jYWxfbWlhbWkmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/613a2a7a257a5d5b302ffc1cC4b4dabeb" target="_blank">Axios&#x27; Noah Bressner reports</a>.

A "tripledemic" collision of flu, COVID and RSV cases on the horizon

Respiratory illnesses in children are already on the rise.

Respiratory illnesses in children are on the rise. Why it matters: Physicians across the country have reported seeing more cases of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="respiratory syncytial virus" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html" data-vars-content-id="1f0d858d-6b47-48f3-90aa-b86a7d346675" data-vars-headline="A &quot;tripledemic&quot; collision of flu, COVID and RSV cases on the horizon" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/index.html" target="_blank">respiratory syncytial virus</a>, or RSV, in recent weeks, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Herb Scribner reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/10/21/rsv-children-respiratory-virus-outbreak-cases" data-vars-content-id="1f0d858d-6b47-48f3-90aa-b86a7d346675" data-vars-headline="A &quot;tripledemic&quot; collision of flu, COVID and RSV cases on the horizon" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/10/21/rsv-children-respiratory-virus-outbreak-cases" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Herb Scribner reports</a>.

An infant in a hospital bed being taken care of by a woman in yellow scrubs and mask next to a vitals monitor. 

Long COVID affecting thousands of Ohioans

What causes long COVID still isn't well understood, but it can include a wide range of debilitating symptoms.

Nearly a third of Americans who know they&#x27;ve had COVID-19 say they&#x27;ve also experienced the lingering, often debilitating aftereffects known as long COVID.<ul><li>That includes 28% of Ohioans, ranking us 31st among states, according to a recent <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="CDC survey" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosvitals&amp;stream=top" data-vars-content-id="ddb77da8-1c7f-41b9-9e5d-f4269195b5d7" data-vars-headline="Long COVID affecting thousands of Ohioans" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosvitals&amp;stream=top" target="_blank">CDC survey</a> of 50,000 people.</li></ul>

Omicron booster rollout has been slow in Ohio

Just over 325,000 Ohioans have received a dose of the updated COVID-19 shots.

Demand for Omicron boosters is off to a slow start.What&#x27;s happening: Just over <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="325,000 Ohioans" data-vars-click-url="https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/dashboards/covid-19-vaccine/covid-19-vaccination-dashboard" data-vars-content-id="f987f18a-4da3-401c-9be9-71c6ce8934ae" data-vars-headline="Omicron booster rollout has been slow in Ohio" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/dashboards/covid-19-vaccine/covid-19-vaccination-dashboard" target="_blank">325,000 Ohioans</a> have received a dose of the updated COVID-19 shots — called bivalent vaccines — since they <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="rolled out in late September" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2022/09/13/covid-booster-columbus-ohio" data-vars-content-id="f987f18a-4da3-401c-9be9-71c6ce8934ae" data-vars-headline="Omicron booster rollout has been slow in Ohio" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2022/09/13/covid-booster-columbus-ohio" target="_self">rolled out in late September</a>.

Illustration of a turtle carrying a vial of liquid

COVID 🦠