Health officials in the United States were tracking reports of a novel respiratory virus spreading in China and soon other countries in late 2019. The first case of COVID-19 recorded in the United States was in January 2020. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) referred to the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 virus spread rapidly in Ohio, Franklin County and Columbus. With directions and rules from the Center for Disease Control, the state of Ohio and local health departments, most public and private institutions, including hospitals, libraries, and universities, quickly adapted their operating procedures and services to treat patients and help limit the spread of the virus. Over the course of 2020, 2021 and 2022 the number of COVID-19 cases increased and decreased in waves and variants of the virus emerged. Tests for the virus evolved and vaccines were introduced in December 2020 for limited use. By late spring of 2021 they were broadly available to adults and teenagers. A mass vaccination clinic was set up at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center.
Tests, vaccines and continually improving treatment for COVID-19 changed the status of the virus to an endemic disease. The state of Ohio transitioned from an emergency response to incorporating COVID-19 into the normal health care system starting in May 2023. While there were some lasting operational changes at The Ohio State University and the Wexner Medical Center, such as increases in remote work for eligible staff, more online instruction, online meetings, and telehealth visits, and more intensive hygiene and cleaning protocols, operations and services largely returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2023.
The Ohio State University COVID-19 Records (1.21 gigabytes, 977 files) is comprised of electronic files that document the response of The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center, the Health Sciences Library, and University Libraries to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Many of the files were originally distributed by Medical Center and Ohio State email systems and were saved as PDF documents. Communication varies in the type of information and level of medical detail based on the intended audience. Documents with the most information about treating the novel COVID-19 virus will be found in the ‘Hospital Policies, Treatment Guidelines’ folder, while documents that illustrate how the pandemic generally affected campus life are mostly found in the ‘Communications with Students, Faculty, Staff’ folder. Information about how the pandemic affected Health Science Library and University Libraries operations and services are found in their respective folders. Understanding of the virus and management decisions in response often changed quickly and this is reflected in the documentation. Subjects that may be of particular interest, such as visitor restrictions at the Wexner Medical Center, masking and vaccines, are in individual folders.
Collections also related to the COVID-19 global pandemic in the Medical Heritage Center holdings are listed below. Additionally, the Medical Heritage Center conducted oral history interviews during the pandemic.
Voices in Humanism Collection, Spec.202411.Voices
COVID-19 Mask Collection, Spec.202419.COVID Mask
Medical Student Portrait Collection, Spec.202420.Medical Student
COVID-19 Community Collection, Spec.202429.COVID Community
COVID-19 Project Collection, Spec.202430.COVID Project
The collection is arranged in alphabetical order by folder title.
The collection is open to the public and available for research purposes. Materials are not available online. Please contact the MHC for further information about accessing the collection.
Restrictions, including copyright, may exist and some electronic files may have particular software or hardware requirements to utilize. The MHC staff cannot guarantee that all electronic files will be fully functional. The MHC may charge for providing copies of electronic files.
[Identification of item], Ohio State University COVID-19 Records, SPEC.202431.OSUCOVID, Medical Heritage Center, Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University.