Akron Children's Hospital

Cleveland Clinic plans to comply with the national health care employee COVID-19 vaccination mandate after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the requirement Thursday, officials said.

There are now 12 COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites operating Ohio, including in Canton; the state says its shipment of COVID-19 testing kits has been delayed due to the high demand; Akron Children’s Hospital is placing an undisclosed number of employees who haven’t received COVID-19 vaccines on unpaid leave; and more stories.

It’s the first week on the job for Akron Children’s Hospital’s new CEO and president, Christopher Gessner.

The clinic is open for children and young adults up to the age of 26.

Akron Children’s is the only specialized center for tic disorders in the region. The service is hard to get into, with some patients waiting years for a spot in the program.

Doctors with children’s hospitals in Ohio said they are seeing an increase in respiratory viruses at the same time COVID cases are increasing.

With kids heading back to school, officials warn the number of cases will continue to rise if schools don't take precautions to reduce the spread of the virus.

Akron Children’s Hospital will require its employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine; a crowd gathered outside of Summa Health’s Akron campus Monday night to protest the hospital’s vaccine requirement; the Cuyahoga County Commons Pleas Court's General Division employees are required to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 15; and more stories.

Fueled by the delta variant, cases of COVID-19 in Ohio have soared to a statewide average of 125 per 100,000 people according to the Ohio Department of Health; Summa Health is the first hospital in Akron to announce it is requiring that its employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine; the state health department continues to report strong numbers of vaccination this week; and more stories.

Christopher Gessner comes to Children's from UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and previously worked at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.