NEWS

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan

PHOTO: JORDAN.HOUSE.GOV

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, Predictably: ‘America Is Done with COVID’

Despite science and surging infection rates, Jordan keeps trying to wish the pandemic away

When Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan sees a football stadium crowded with people, he’s apparently picturing happy fans and excited parents — not thousands of potential vectors for an infectious virus to spread during a global pandemic.

On Sept. 7, Jordan tweeted a video of a very full Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin as the Badgers played Penn State. The Sept. 4 game in the video was the team’s first in nearly two years due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“Real America is done with #COVID19. God bless!” Jordan tweeted in his share of the Barstool Sports video.

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical advisor and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, refuted Jordan’s assessment of the situation. During an interview that evening with MSNBC’s Joy Reid, Fauci directly addressed Jordan’s notion that the country was “done” with COVID-19.

“COVID is not done with us. And that’s really the problem, that you can’t wish it away,” Fauci said.

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Fauci added that even if most of those football fans had been vaccinated, the huge number of people gathered together presented a big opportunity for COVID-19 to spread.

“When you have the numbers of infections that you just mentioned a moment ago, I mean, I would hope that most of the people in that stadium were vaccinated. And even if they were, the close congregate setting, they should have been wearing masks. Certainly, those who are unvaccinated should be wearing masks,” Fauci told Reid.

“And I didn’t see any of that in the picture that I saw about that, which is really unfortunate, because then you lead to outbreak, which leads to hospitalizations, which get to the numbers that you were talking about a few moments ago,” Fauci said.

Wisconsin Public Radio recently reported that 88% of students and 92% of staff have been vaccinated from COVID-19.

But that wasn’t the only misstep that Jordan, who is a former wrestler and not a physician or epidemiologist, made recently. On Sept. 6, Jordan inaccurately tweeted “Vaccine mandates are un-American.”

As of press time, the United States does not make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for the nation, but state and local governments, individual employers and schools can require a variety of vaccinations for various reasons.

Dr. Peter Hotez, a molecular virologist, took Jordan to task for his tweet.

“This is simply not true. Vaccines for smallpox, later childhood vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, Hib (vaccines discovered in USA), preserved our nation. I’m aghast at the absence of intellectual curiosity or even passing interest in American history from our US Congress,” Hotez tweeted at Jordan on Sept. 6.

As hundreds of publications and doctors pointed out to Jordan, vaccination mandates are, indeed, as American as the country’s first president. In 1777, George Washington ordered all military troops to be inoculated against smallpox during the Revolutionary War.

Moreover, vaccination mandates have been protected by the U.S. Supreme Court for well over 100 years, Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown University, recently told NPR.

“The first vaccine mandate law was enacted in the United States in 1809 for smallpox. But the Supreme Court in 1905 in a very famous case called Jacobson v. Massachusetts upheld a Cambridge City law, which required smallpox vaccination. That was something where the Supreme Court said that we don’t have a right to place other people at risk,” Gostin said. “And by 1922, in another case, Justice Brandeis, writing for unanimous court, upheld childhood school mandates, calling it settled law.”

The part about not putting other people at risk is important, and Gostin added later that the COVID-19 vaccine likely will become part of the typical round of vaccinations that every American gets.

“I think in the immediate future, throughout this year and into next, we’re going to see mandates very widely imposed throughout the public and private sector workforce,” Gostin said.

COVID-19 vaccines also will be part of the arsenal of innoculations schools require, Gostin said.

“I absolutely predict that in a year or two, CDC will recommend COVID19 vaccines as part of the required vaccination of children as a condition of going to school. And most states, but not all, will comply with that.”

Jordan’s inaccurate tweets came as Ohio continues to experience a major, sustained spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Every county in Ohio currently is labeled as high risk for coronavirus transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On June 13, Ohio had just 182 daily COVID-19 cases, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard. Since then, the case rate has steadily increased to 325 on July 6; 2,251 on Aug. 6; and 6,326 on Aug. 31.

In August, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted full approval for use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for adults. Pfizer’s vaccines for teens and all vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson remain under the FDA’s emergency use authorization, with more FDA approvals expected later this year and beyond.

For COVID-19 vaccinelocations and information, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov in Ohio and kycovid19.ky.gov in Kentucky.

NEWS Meet Cincinnati Cyclones’ Jason Payne, Pro Hockey’s Only Current Head Coach of Color

BY ALLISON BABKA

It’s a new era for the Cincinnati Cyclones, with one coach departing and another taking the reins.

The Cyclones recently announced that Jason Payne has become the team’s newest head coach. Payne, who had been the Cyclones’ assistant coach, replaces Matt Thomas, who has become the assistant coach for the Providence Bruins.

“We are going to remain committed to continuing our development both on and off the ice for our players and in the community. As an organization, we are equally committed to continuing the growth of minor league hockey, as well as the overall growth of the sport in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Area,” Payne, 45, says in an Aug. 31 press release. “From our fans, to our players, to our staff, this is a firstclass organization and I will continue to treat it as such. I’m excited for what this season will bring for our team.”

As Payne ascends to team leader and director of hockey operations, he also becomes the only head coach of color in professional hockey today as well as the Cincinnati Cyclones’ own first head coach of color, according to a release from the team.

Payne, who is Black, is a member of the NHL Coaches Association BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Coaches Program. He is only the fifth head coach of color in professional hockey history.

Payne joined the Cyclones as an assistant coach before the 2018-2019 season. Prior to that, he spent time as a skating coach, scout and skills coach for numerous teams before becoming general manager for the Georgetown Raiders.

He began his hockey career in 1999 with the now-defunct Cincinnati Mighty Ducks before heading to the Dayton Bombers. Overall, he played for 14 years and amassed 1,825 penalty minutes, a release says.

Payne takes over for Thomas, who had moved into the top Cyclones job prior to the 2018-2019 season and subsequently collected an 89-30-16 regularseason record during his reign. In 2019, the Cyclones went to the Kelly Cup Playoffs while capturing the Brabham Cup, an award given to the team with the best regular-season record. Thomas was named the John Brophy ECHL Coach of the Year in 2019.

The Cincinnati Cyclones will host its first home game of the season on Oct. 30 against the Indy (Indianapolis) Fuel at Heritage Bank Center. It will be the Cyclones’ first game in about a year and a half, as the coronavirus pandemic canceled the end of the 2019-2020

Jason Payne (left) and Matt Thomas

PHOTO: TONY BAILEY/CINCINNATI CYCLONES

season and the Cyclones opted out of the 2020-2021 season.

Cincinnati’s pro hockey team last played on March 11, 2020, in Toledo. The Cyclones’ last home game was March 7 of last year. Find the full Cincinnati Cyclones schedule at cycloneshockey.com.

Cincinnati Public Library Branches Now Carry Free Rapid At-Home COVID-19 Tests

BY MAIJA ZUMMO

If you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19 and need a test, there are now more options beyond the doctor's office, emergency room or pharmacy.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has partnered with public libraries across the state to offer rapid at-home COVID tests for free.

A press release from ODH says that last month, 246 libraries made more than 53,000 COVID-19 tests available across Ohio, including right here in Cincinnati.

“As the Delta variant spreads across the state and our students and teachers head back to school, there has been renewed interest in testing for COVID-19,” said Governor Mike DeWine in a release. “These tests — and Ohio’s amazing network of public libraries — make it easier than ever for Ohioans to get tested and to ensure that we are limiting the spread of the Delta variant.”

Libraries are offering the BinaxNOW home test, which ODH says is “packaged with a telehealth session to oversee test administration and result reporting.”

The Cincinnati Public Library says tests are available at drive-thru branches in Anderson, Covedale, Delhi Township, Downtown, Groesbeck, Harrison, Reading and Symmes Township. Due to high demand, library officials recommend checking availability before attempting to pick up a test.

The library also offers walk-up nasal swab testing. Find dates, times and locations — and pre-register — at healthcollab.org/testandprotect. BinaxNOW rapid at-home COVID test