Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in distrust in government and a devaluing of science. As Rep. and Minority Leader Allison Russo explains on this episode of Prognosis Ohio, within a month of the initial orders, there were protests at the Ohio Statehouse, which put political pressure on Governor DeWine from members of his own party and also the public to pull back from his initial health-centered COVID response.
In conversation with host Dan Skinner, as a result of this turn away from science, Rep. Russo raises concerns about lagging childhood vaccination rates in Ohio, both in the backsliding vaccination rates among children and in the growing distrust between patients and providers.
Rep. Russo shares, as well, that even before the pandemic, Ohio wasn’t in a great place when it came to addiction, mental health, smoking, infant mortality, maternal mortality — all of which will continue to get worse if we don’t prioritize investing resources in building a sustainable public health infrastructure. These are all issues that Prognosis Ohio has addressed on past episodes (see episode archive here), but they are taking on a new urgency given the divisive political context in which Statehouse leaders find themselves—and which some of those same leaders have contributed to creating.
The state budget is a reflection of the state’s priorities or, as Rep. Russo puts it, it’s “values.” Rep. Russo shares the importance of digging into the social determinants of health — racism, housing, transportation, education — that directly impact the issues we want to tackle that determine the long-term health of our community.
Dan asks about how the General Assembly will study Ohio’s COVID-19 response, since evaluation is a basic piece of public health, as was saw with Ohio’s response to the 2014 Ebola crisis. Rep. Russo responded by praising the regionalized response of hospitals and how the pandemic forced us to finally take steps forward that are necessary to the success of our public health system, while also criticizing the failures of the response and how we have much to learn from it. She mentions the General Assembly puts together study commissions all the time, but there is fear of the criticisms that a COVID-19 evaluation would reveal. Leadership requires a willingness to confront difficult truths.
A recent study showed that the “excess deaths” from the unvaccinated in Ohio are some of the highest in the country — and she blames that partly on leadership.
Politics cannot be separated from public health and health care, which was evident in the ability to pass important legislation like the Affordable Care Act, or the ability to expand Medicaid in Ohio.
Finally, Rep. Russo discussed the recent redistricting battles in Ohio and the unconstitutional gerrymandered state legislative and congressional maps that we are voting under in the coming election, which enables the election of officials who have extreme views that are misaligned from the majority views of their constituents.
GET INVOLVED
Early voting has started in Ohio! Visit the Secretary of State website to find early in-person voting hours at your early vote center or to request your absentee ballot. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8 and polls are open from 6:30am-7:30pm
NAME CHECKS
- Dan and Rep. Russo mentioned Dr. Amy Acton and her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Dan mentioned the Nationwide Children’s Hospital and how they handed out superhero capes to children when they got vaccinated.
RELATED EPISODES
Ep. 73. Ohio's COVID-19 Response (So Far): Former Ohio Department of Health Director Rick Hodges
Ep. 72. COVID-19 Vaccines: Three OSU Public Health Law Experts Weigh In
Ep. 66. Rep. Allison Russo on 2021 Health Care Priorities in Ohio (2020 Candidate Series)
