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Doctors warn another COVID wave could hit Ohio in time for the holidays

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State health officials Thursday reported 11,097 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week, up 25-hundred from the previous week. Over 870 people are currently hospitalized with COVID, an 11 percent increase in the past two weeks. And there are several new variants of COVID that doctors warn could be a problem for Ohioans soon.

Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff says new variants of Omicron are hitting other countries right now and could spike a wave here in Ohio in the coming months.

This could coincide with the holiday season and the opportunity for larger indoor gatherings whether it be for Halloween costume parties or Thanksgiving dinner or December holiday parties and get togethers.

Vanderhoff says the good news is the bivalent COVID booster now available seems to be performing well in early tests at preventing the virus and also protecting against long COVID. He expects flu to also be worse this year. The bottom line is he says Ohioans, especially those who are at risk, should get up to date on COVID and flu shots now- before the holidays.