Dr Amy Acton spoke to Tracy Townsend of 10TV about how it went in those first months and about where we are now as the constraints on the pandemic ease.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Thursday was the first day that the Ohio Department of Health will release weekly data on COVID-19.
This marked a big change from two years ago, when Gov. Mike Devine and Ohio Health Director Dr. Amy Acton greeted Ohio residents every day at 2 p.m.
Although she resigned as director in June of that year, Dr. Ecton continued to remain a prominent figure, receiving awards across the county for her leadership in the early stages of the pandemic.
Dr Acton spoke to Tracy Townsend of 10TV about how it went in those first months and about where we are now as the restrictions and mandates associated with the pandemic are lifted.
You can watch the full interview with Dr. Amy Acton below.
While these changes are being made, Dr. Acton said she was telling people that we are not yet 100% out of the woods.
“I focus on the fact that we are happy about it, but we don’t want to leave anyone,” she said. “We all go out differently at different times, I hope we all have a little kindness and mercy for each other.”
Asked whether people choose masks and take these extra precautions, Dr Acton added that everyone needs to find their own way to what is convenient for them. She went on to say we are in a new phase, and went back to one of the early analogies she used.
“It’s much more like a dimmer switch than a light switch … The fact is that the dimmer switch is under our control and it has nuances. So each of us needs to pay attention and find out what works for us, ”she said.
Back in March 2020, Dr. Acton told Ohio residents that they would face COVID-19 for some time. She recalled being at the White House that February and admitted that the virus was here, and we didn’t know about it yet.
If we are looking to get out of this pandemic one day, Dr. Acton said the conditions are right for it to happen again and we can observe it more often than we have, but we can build on the consciousness of what we all have common enemy.
“We need to learn to live with the awareness that it is part of our ecosystem. And it’s scary, but at the same time, but we’ve always been on the same team, ”she said.
She discussed how the focus was on the hatred and commitment that came with the pandemic, but she focused on stories she had heard about people trying to move to the other side together.
“This is a new stage, and we must deliberately live it. We must deliberately go back, weave our fabric of our society again,” Dr. Acton said.
As an example, Dr. Acton discussed how life expectancy has increased by 30 years in the last century, and most of these years have been spent not only on medicine but also on how people solve problems together.
“There are things we need to address together. It’s not just government, it’s business and government, and academia, and nonprofits coming together to solve problems.”
Although Dr. Acton said she had the opportunity to work on a variety of things, she is ready to return to her life.
“I want to be in Ohio. Feeling the burden of responsibility of the people of Ohio, you fall in love and do not want to stop, and you do not let go easily.
She went on to say that we will all soon see how she does things, especially what allows her to give back.
“I want to be a part of healing and hope. So I want to be a part of helping us get out, get together and weave back. ”
