Ohio Banning Hydroxychloroquine for Treatment of COVID-19

BREAKING NEWS –

Ohio is banning the use of  hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19 beginning Thursday, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

ODH Press Secretary Melanie Amato said the drug is not an effective treatment for COVID-19. She stated that Board of Pharmacy rule 4729:5-5-21 of the Administrative Code will go into effect Thursday, banning its distribution.

The rule prohibits selling or dispensing hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.

The ODH announcement comes just days after new information was made public about the success of hydroxychloroquine – actually calling it a cure for COVID-19.

Medical professionals attending an America’s Frontline Doctors Summit in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Monday addressed the media and the U.S. public about the country’s fight against COVID-19 and a few, including Dr. Stella Immanuel, spoke out against the current accepted virus treatment and the need to wear masks.

Video of Immanuel speaking quickly went viral as she talked about her experience treating COVID-19. She called it a cure for the virus.

This position is in contrast to the safety issues raised by the FDA, which has cautioned against using hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients.

Watch the video. 

The video was quickly banned across social media platforms.

The Ohio Department of Health purchased two million of doses of the drug earlier this year and later was given two millions more doses by an Ohio drug-maker. None of which has been dispensed to the public for use, say sources.

About 22 states bought up large quantities of the drug – some 30 million doses, saying they wanted to have a supply on hand.

Shortly thereafter, the Food and Drug Administration announced that hydroxychloroquine is not effective against COVID-19 and advised doctors not to prescribe it.

Ohio reportedly spent $602,629 on hydroxychloroquine pills in early April. Capitol Wholesale Drug donated two million more doses to the state on April 20, worth a reported $680,000.

Amato said the ODH will be returning the donated medication to the drug maker. It has not been decided yet what will be done with the stockpiled medication that was purchased, said the press secretary.

Hydroxychloroquine has been around for decades. It is a quinoline medicine used to treat or prevent malaria. Numerous medical professionals believe it is effective in the treatment of COVID-19.

From the Ohio Department of Health:

Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine COVID-19 Checklist
On July 30, 2020, Board of Pharmacy rule 4729:5-5-21 of the Administrative Code goes into effect. In general, the rule prohibits all terminal distributors (including pharmacist, prescriber clinics, out-of-state pharmacies, and institutional facilities) from selling or dispensing hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. Please be advised that this rule replaces emergency rule 4729-5-30.2 and that all approvals for the use of these medications made under that rule are no longer applicable.

To assist licensees in complying with this new rule, the Board has developed a guidance document that can be accessed by visiting: www.pharmacy.ohio.gov/hydroxy
The implementation of this new rule is based on the following developments:

• June 15, 2020: Based on ongoing analysis and emerging scientific data, FDA has revoked the emergency use authorization (EUA) to use hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19 in certain hospitalized patients when a clinical trial is unavailable or participation is not feasible. The agency made this determination based on recent results from a large, randomized clinical trial in hospitalized patients that found these medicines showed no benefit for decreasing the likelihood of death or speeding recovery. This outcome was consistent with other new data, including those showing the suggested dosing for these medicines are unlikely to kill or inhibit the virus that causes COVID-19. As a result, FDA determined that the legal criteria for the EUA are no longer met.

• July 1, 2020: A summary of the FDA review of safety issues with the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is now available. This includes reports of serious heart rhythm problems and other safety issues, including blood and lymph system disorders, kidney injuries, and liver problems and failure.

Laws Should be Made by the Legislature

Repost from The Times-Gazette; Commentary by John Judkins, Esq.

On July 22, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine held a press conference announcing that he was ordering every person in Ohio to wear a mask in public. This announcement came with several broad exceptions, but generally speaking, the governor said he was ordering most Ohioans to wear a mask whenever they were outside their home.

The governor stated that his order was to take effect at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 23.

By 6 p.m. on the 23rd Governor DeWine had made no such order. Around that time, however, the Ohio Department of Health’s website was updated with an order from Interim Director Lance D. Himes which demanded that most individuals in the state of Ohio wear face coverings at all times outside their home.

So why did the governor say he was ordering Ohioans to wear masks, but the order actually come from director of the Health Department? Because the governor can’t legally order you to do anything. However, there are a few state statutes that say the director of the health department is allowed to order you to do things in certain times of emergency.

Ohio Revised Code Section 3701.13 outlines some of the powers of the health department including the ability to have, “…ultimate authority in matters of quarantine and isolation, which it may declare and enforce …” and to “make special or standing orders … for preventing the spread of contagious or infectious diseases…”ORC § 3701.352 says, in part, that, “No person shall violate … any order the director or department of health issues … to prevent a threat to the public caused by a pandemic.”

ORC § 3701.99 says in part that you can be found guilty of a second degree misdemeanor if you violate an order of the health department issued to prevent a threat of pandemic. Second degree misdemeanors are punishable by up to 90 days in jail and fines of up to $750.

In short, these laws mean that you could be charged with a crime and subsequently go to jail if you do not wear a mask in public. However, there is a reasonable argument that these laws may also violate the Ohio Constitution.

The powers of Ohio’s government have been separated between three branches by the Ohio Constitution: the legislative, executive and judicial. The constitution is the supreme governing law of our state, and no statute can supersede the constitution. The United States Supreme Court has stated that separation of the government’s power exists, “precisely so that we may resist the temptation to concentrate power in one location as an expedient solution to the crises of the day.”

The laws I referenced above were passed by the Ohio General Assembly, but they seem to confer lawmaking power to the Ohio Department of Health, which is a part of the executive branch. The legislature has essentially said that during a time of pandemic the health department may issue orders that carry criminal consequences. In other words, the legislature essentially gave the executive branch the ability to make new criminal laws.

The Ohio Supreme Court has said that, “the lawmaking prerogative is a sovereign power conferred by the people upon the legislative branch of the government,” and therefore “cannot be delegated to … [another] branch of government.” The legislature is not supposed to be able to delegate its authority to make law to the executive branch. In another case, the Ohio Supreme Court stated that, “Administrative regulations cannot dictate public policy, but rather can only dictate policy already established by the General Assembly.” Here it seems that the department of health dictated the policy.

But also, maybe not. It’s actually really common to have both state and federal laws that criminalize regulations issued by the executive branch. Sometimes, the executive agency oversteps its authority, and a court challenge by a citizen strikes down an unconstitutional regulation.

Most of the time, the regulations of the executive branch agencies are enforced by courts. For instance, it is a federal crime to export compost outside the State of New York. This is not because Congress said so. This is because Congress passed a law criminalizing the violation of regulations passed by the department of agriculture concerning the transportation of plant products.

The executive branch issued a rule prohibiting transporting compost outside of New York, and if you violate that rule then you commit a crime.
Therefore, the complete delegation of lawmaking authority to the Ohio Health Department which allows them to make up brand new crimes during times of pandemic might be unconstitutional, but it also might not be. Ultimately, that is a question for the third branch of government, the judicial branch, to decide.

Unfortunately, the only way for a court to decide this question would be for someone to not wear a mask, be charged with a crime, and argue to a court of law that the crime they are charged with is unconstitutional. Arguing the constitutionality of a law is time consuming, has a low success rate, and is very very expensive.

On top of all that, wearing a mask in public is really just a kind thing to do.

To paraphrase the Dread Pirate Roberts, I think everyone should be wearing masks in the future. I just don’t think the governor or the health department should have the authority to make new laws that could send people to jail for not wearing them.

Laws should be made by the legislature.

John Judkins is a Greenfield attorney

DeWine’s Views on George Soros Have Done an About-Face

“That alone should make Ohioans suspicious.”

Apparently two years can change a man.

When Mike DeWine was running for governor of Ohio against Democratic contender Richard Cordray in 2018, DeWine blasted his opponent for supporting Issue 1.

DeWine reportedly called Issue 1 “a disaster in the making.”

In fact, DeWine was one of the biggest voices against Issue 1.

As DeWine pointed out at the time, billionaire liberal elites Mark Zuckerberg and George Soros were the primary financial backers of the proposal, “and that alone should make Ohioans suspicious.”

Two years later, Gov. Mike DeWine places Ohio’s  contact tracing program in the hands of Soros-funded Partners In Health.

Contact tracing is a tool that is used in the public health arena for sudden disease outbreaks, like HIV and TB – and now COVID-19.

When asked about the decision to use PIH at a press conference on May 21, DeWine said, “And so I’m going to take help from where I can get help and where I find expertise. I don’t have to agree with everyone’s ideology or what they think about everything in the world and to accept that, to be able to use their help.”

To echo DeWine’s own words: That alone should make Ohioans suspicious.


 

More on contact tracing:  With the ability to use technology for large-scale tracing of entire populations, some have expressed concern that contact tracing for COVID-19 can easily be abused and the acquired information exploited.

  • Teaching tools: PIH Scripts used in COVID-19 contact tracing interviews.
  • Over 60 companies are pushing  cell phone apps and other ways of tracking COVID-positive people.
  • The Covid Credential Initiative calls for a digital certificate, sometimes referred to as an immunity passport. With it, certificate holders could prove that they’ve recovered after testing negative, have tested positive for antibodies, or have received a vaccination, once one is available. By proving immunity, individuals will be able to begin “participating in everyday life again.”

Unmasking the Truth: Ohioans Don’t Have to Wear Face Masks

A couple weeks ago, Ohio made national headlines when local authorities set up a hotline to report anyone caught in public in Cuyahoga County without a mask on.

Over the course of a weekend, the hotline reportedly logged over 500 complaints from pro-maskers tattling on the unmasked.

Since then,  Gov. Mike DeWine has imposed a statewide mandatory face mask order.

Pro-mask crusaders, keen on ensuring that their fellow Ohioans obey, have made their position known on social media – and are prepared to verbally pummel anyone voicing an objection to mandated masks.

Those in opposition are labeled selfish, rude, hateful or something worse.

But masked virtue-signalers take warning. There are Ohioans with disabilities that prevent them from wearing a face mask. Harassing, threatening or physically assaulting them could land you in legal trouble of your own.

What’s more, there are numerous law offices offering to represent those who have been harmed by mandatory mask orders by the state.

It’s no wonder that pro-maskers feel compelled to single out the unmasked for abuse. This is what DeWine’s “I wear this to protect you” campaign was clearly designed to do, create a fearful situation that pits one against the other. Where neighbor reports neighbor.

DeWine’s Administration is utilizing the same tactics employed by dictatorships throughout history.

Despite having no scientific proof to support its claim, DeWine’s campaign slogan puts forth that, by not wearing a mask, you are leaving another unprotected and putting them in harm’s way.

Regardless of one’s personal beliefs about masks, there are valid health conditions that legally exclude people with disabilities from wearing them, even during a statewide mandate.

Despite DeWine’s obvious lack of regard for those suffering from disabilities, there are federal laws that protect them. Business establishments must be very cautious when it comes to denying access to those with disabilities, which are not always visibly apparent.

Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, store managers cannot legally question a disabled person about the nature of their disability and cannot require documentation that a disability exists.

The National Law Review warns that businesses that exclude non-face-mask-wearing customers who claim a disability have to reach a pretty high legal bar or they could be party to a lawsuit.

The 1851 Center for Constitutiona Law says DeWine’s mask mandate is unconstitional in several ways and it contains no enforcement mechanisims.

There are 13 exemptions from the mask mandate, and they are broad enough to exempt anyone at anytime in any place from wearing a mask, according to a statement by 1851 Center.

“Bottom line: if you don’t want to wear a mask, you don’t have to. And if you’re wearing a mask, it’s because you’re choosing to do so,” said the statement.

“In the interim, you’re entitled to disobey these orders, and we will defend those who are prosecuted.”

 

Ohio Department of Health Targets Parents with Disinformation

ODH news release asks teens and young adults to “create a new normal.”

A news release Friday from the Ohio Department of Health targets Ohio families with fear-inducing disinformation and pushes the “new normal” for kids.

It also presents recommendations that could be dangerous and potentially damaging to children, teens and young adults.

In the release, ODH interim director Lance D. Himes urges young people to “create a new normal” for themselves.

Under Guidelines for Parents it states, “Many young people have become seriously ill or died.” In reality, there have been two deaths under the age of 20 in Ohio, according to the ODH’s own website.

The Center for Disease Control shows zero COVID-19-associated deaths in Ohio as of June 18 for anyone 19 years and younger.

The ODH makes no mention that comorbidities are a major factor in the severity of COVID-19.

Approximately 85 percent of children with a severe reaction to the virus have at least one significant preexisting medical condition, but this information is absent from the news release.

Comorbidities include immune suppression, malignancy, obesity, diabetes, seizures, congenital heart disease, sickle cell disease and chronic lung disease.

The release instructs parents to have their children wear masks when they are away from home.

It does not address the fact that sufficient oxygen levels are necessary for brain development in kids and young adults, and that fresh air builds a child’s immunity.

The news release includes links to images with young people and children wearing masks outside while exercising, camping and walking with a caregiver.

The human brain isn’t fully developed until the mid-twenties, and adequate oxygen to the brain is a critical component of brain development. Neurologists agree that the most effective way to stimulate brain function and development is through breathing.

Inhaling and exhaling while wearing a facial covering is more difficult for children than adults  due to their smaller airways and cardiovascular physiology, according to neurobiologists.

Many pediatricians advise against children wearing masks, including pediatric nurse practitioner Patricia Neuenschwander.

Neuenschwander said that fear is driving the recommendation for healthy people to wear masks, not science.

“Covering the mouth and nose for hours is not only uncomfortable for children (and adults), it also limits the airflow and the flow of oxygen coming in. It causes children to breath their own carbon dioxide, which we know is harmful. In addition, it provides a dark, warm, moist environment that potentially increases the risk of infection,” said Neuenschwander.

The release also fails to mention that masks make children fearful, resulting in anxiety and lowered immunities.

“Wearing a mask promotes fear, which we know is bad for the immune system,” states Paul Thomas, M.D., a Dartmouth-trained pediatrician with over 30 years of medical experience.

“It reduces breathing in fresh air, which is also bad for the immune system, and it does little to nothing to prevent spread of a virus,” said Thomas.

The news release was entitled, “The Ohio Department of Health Stresses That Teens and Young Adults Are Crucial in Fight Against COVID-19″”

“Teens and young people must do everything in their power to protect themselves, their families and friends, and all Ohioans against this very real and very serious threat,” Himes said. “You will save lives, prevent suffering, and help tame a pandemic that places all of us at risk.”

This contradicts current medical data showing that children very rarely become seriously ill or transmit the virus.

One of many articles about how COVID-19 affects children was published in the Journal of Pediatrics. It said doctors concluded that children rarely transmit COVID-19 to each other or to adults. 

“The data are striking,” said Dr. Raszka, pediatric infectious disease specialist and associate editor of Pediatrics. “The key takeaway is that children are not driving the pandemic. After six months, we have a wealth of accumulating data showing that children are less likely to become infected and seem less infectious; it is congregating adults who aren’t following safety protocols who are responsible for driving the upward curve.”

ODH’s mission statement is “to protect and improve the health of all Ohioans by preventing disease, promoting good health and assuring access to quality care.”

Why is this taxpayer-funded agency publishing disinformation that can result in permanent damage to Ohio’s young minds – our future leaders?

Why are Ohio health officials pushing the creation of a “New Normal” for a virus that has a 99-plus percentage survival rate?

O-H?

Was last week’s announcement from the Big Ten Conference the first domino to tumble in an unthinkable chain reaction?

Is college football in jeopardy of being a casualty in the coronavirus pandemic?

Conference officials sent a jolt of uncertainty when they announced that Big Ten football teams will only play those schools within the conference.

This proclamation sent shock waves across the Buckeye State as thousands of football fans sit and wait – and ponder a season without the Scarlet and Gray.

The PAC-12 made the same decision, and many conferences have already put the kibosh on the 2020 football season. Those include the Ivy League, the Patriot League, the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference, and now the Colonial Athletic Association.

But the seismic reaction on my end did not come from that revelation from the Big Ten, but instead after what Commissioner Kevin Warren said.

He told the Big Ten Network, “We may not have sports in the fall.”

Wow.

Warren said the conference wanted to take the next “logical” step and rely on medical experts to make sure students and athletes are healthy, both emotionally and physically, before athletics are played.

Right off the bat, the first three games against Bowling Green, Oregon and Buffalo are gone – poof.

This means there will be no trip to play the Ducks in Oregon, the defending Pac-12 Champions, who are scheduled to come to Ohio in 2021.

And there are financial consequences too.

Bowling Green and Buffalo are also owed money as part of a non-conference agreement to a total of $3 million, according to information from the Columbus Dispatch.

This is not the way Warren wanted to enter his first year as commissioner.

And this was not the news fans wanted to hear either.

They have already surrendered spring and summer sports.

March Madness fouled out because of the pandemic. Major League Baseball is on deck later this month to play a shortened season, but there are two outs in the ninth inning.

Major events like the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500 are still not a guarantee to cross the finish line even after they have been pushed back.

We are living in a real-life Twilight Zone.

Now the nightmare might impact the biggest and most popular team in Ohio and one of the most-followed squads in sports.

Buckeye football is the lifeblood of Columbus.

What will happen to the city if the pigskin is quarantined too?

Businesses such as hotels, restaurants, vendors, and those who work the games will be impacted.

Now fans must examine the possibility that there might not be any football played in the Horseshoe, or in any other stadium this fall.

This is a real scenario.

OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith said that he was concerned for the status of the season.

“I am really concerned, that is the question of the day. I was cautiously optimistic. I’m not even there now,” he said in a press teleconference.

I believe Big Ten and Ohio State officials are trying to soften the blow leading up to a future announcement that will be a gut-punch coming to fans and the city.

The health of the public should be at the center of every decision, and it appears that is the protocol.

And legendary football coach Lou Holtz told Fox News earlier this week that “I don’t believe there will be football this year.”

We can’t hide forever.

Life must get back to normal, and college football is perhaps the best way to do that.

Maybe not this year, it might appear.

Normal is tailgating before kick-off.

Normal is the Skull Session before the team makes its way to the ‘Shoe’ through a gauntlet of supporters.

Normal is the band marching out to a thunderous crowd and writing Script Ohio.

Normal is hearing the fans chant O-H-I-O at least 564 times a game.

Normal is a Buckeye win.

And normal is Ohio State in contention for another National Championship.

We need normal.

Del Duduit is an award-winning writer and author who lives in Lucasville, Ohio with his wife, Angie. They attend Rubyville Community Church. Follow his blog at delduduit.com/blog and his Twitter @delduduit. He is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency.

Is DeWine prepared to distribute a COVID vaccine when it’s ready?

Medical experts say the majority of the population will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order for it to work.

The vaccine hasn’t even been released yet and already the pro-vaccine drive is underway.

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said that to stop the spread of this disease and “get our lives back,” most of the population will need vaccinated.

With several potential COVID-19 vaccines now in clinical trials, policymakers need to plan for the next hurdle: Ensuring Americans actually get vaccinated, said an article in USNews on Tuesday.

Could the vaccine, like the mask, eventually become mandatory if not enough people voluntarily receive it?

Monica Schoch-Spana, Hopkin’s senior scientist made the case for why the vaccine should be embraced by all.

“But it’s one thing to make a clinically successful vaccine,” said Schoch-Spana, “It’s another to make it socially acceptable.”

The vaccination is not only about yourself, both Offit and Scch-Spana stressed. It’s about creating the ‘herd immunity’ that protects the most vulnerable people in a community.

Most of the population will need vaccinated to “stop the spread of this disease and get our lives back,” said Offit.

It is also becoming apparent that the vaccine might not be a single-dose, but a two-dose injection that could require boosters.

Vaccines will likely need to be given in two doses, Offit said. And whether or not booster shots will be needed to ensure continued immunity against the virus remains to be seen.

Around the world, governments are investing in stockpiles of hundreds of millions of doses of the different vaccine candidates, in hopes of speedily starting inoculations if any are proven to work, according to the Associated Press.

“We’re not going to get this virus under control until either we get a vaccine or it infects 80% or 90% of the population, and the latter is an outcome we don’t want because a lot more people will die,” said infectious disease researcher Sarah George, MD. in Popular Science.

We believe that these findings, although preliminary, suggest that many people who hold anti-vaccine beliefs may jeopardize the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine once it’s available, due to issues of noncompliance, said an  article in The Conversation.

The government’s top infectious diseases specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress that vaccine trials were looking favorable and a vaccine could be available by the end of the year.

An experimental vaccine, developed by Fauci’s colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., is undergoing testing.

Researchers reported on Tuesday that the vaccine provided the hoped-for immune boost. The vaccine requires two doses, a month apart.

“No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” Fauci told The Associated Press.

“We’re going to start manufacturing doses of vaccine way before we even know that they work, so that by the beginning of 2021, we will have a couple of million doses,” Fauci said.

Fauci said he’s somewhat concerned about how long a vaccine might contineu working. Natural immunity to coronaviruses that cause common colds often lasts less than a year, he noted.

While trials prepare a vaccine for the general population, states need to begin thinking about how they will implement a vaccination policy, so it is effective enough to reopen…and stay open.

 

“A Little Voluntary Manslaughter Anyone?” Rep. Tavia Galonski

Do they hate us this much?

(This article has been updated. Rep. Tavia Galonski represents the 35th House District, not the 25th.)

If some Ohio Democratic leaders had their way, civil disobedience would be punishable by jail time and death – as crazy as it sounds.

These emboldened Democrats can’t seem to conceal their utter disdain for Ohioans that don’t believe as they believe or do as they say.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper wants anyone without a mask fined and arrested. And, unbelievably, Democratic State Rep. Tavia Galonski said participants at an upcoming Ohio Freedom rally should be slaughtered.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Democratic Rep. Tavia Galonski on the upcoming Freedom rally: “A little voluntary manslaughter anyone?” @repgalonski

Galonski represents Ohio’s 35th district and is Chair of the Ohio Woman’s Caucus.

It’s unclear if Galonski is making a threat or signaling the suggestion of violence, but she had plenty of support from fellow Democrats figuratively patting her back for the statement, “A little voluntary manslaughter anyone?”

She was referring to attendees at an upcoming Stand for Freedom Ohio rally scheduled for Saturday in Capitol Square, Columbus.

Some of the representative’s followers reiterated her death tweet in memes and comments, wishing participants a fate of violence or Covid.

A review of Galonski’s Twitter showed no such hostility toward Black Lives Matter and Antifa groups that rioted in the streets of downtown Columbus for weeks and did thousands of dollars in damage to the Statehouse where Galonski serves as an elected official.

ODP Chairman David Pepper last Friday slammed Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost when Yost stated that he could not legally enforce orders for face masks.

Violating a state order is a second-degree misdemeanor and is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.

“We’re not talking about throwing people in jail,” DeWine said during a press conference last week. “This is a law to advise people what to do.”

ODP Chairman David Pepper is upset that the orders will not be enforced by the state.

“As far as Dave Yost is concerned, refusing to enforce health orders is just one more example that the Ohio GOP has become the party of Donald Trump, Nino Vitale and John Becker,” said Pepper. Read the story here

Pepper was referring to Rep. Nino Vitale and Rep. John Becker who are outspoken advocates for civil liberties.

Sadly, Galonski’s public threat has gone unreported by liberal media. As far as is known, Galonski has not been reprimanded by the ODP or her superiors at the Ohio House.

One of those to speak out against Galonski’s Twitter post commented, “Inciting violence is never okay but especially not from elected officials!”

Coronavirus Fear-Monger Crowd Using Liberal Trolls to Incite Panic

AmplifyOhio is Hiring Microinfluencers to Build Online Support

Over the past few weeks, social media watchers have noticed a new influx of pro-mask, pro-lockdown social media posts, comments, and trolls. One enterprising web sleuth has alleged that this influx is through the efforts of a group that has branded itself AmplifyOhio.

According to their website, they are “partnering with the State of Ohio to amplify practices that will help us more safely move about in our communities.” They are seeking to do this by hiring influencers to help spread their message online on Twitter, Facebook, and other similar outlets.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State website, there is no business or organization registered to operate in Ohio under the name AmplifyOhio or anything remotely close to it. A search of a number of other states corporate records failed to find any registrations either. A WHOIS internet lookup search shows the web address was registered through GODADDY on April 20, 2020 using their private registration service.

Ohio Statehouse News has reached out to the Governor’s office and requested information on these efforts. However, the Governor’s spokesperson has failed to respond to repeated requests.

We did find one additional clue, however. According to Exhibit 1 of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Partners in Health (PIH) and the State of Ohio, PIH is supposed to provide “support for social media and other strategic communications to the general public.” Please see the picture below:

Exhibit 1

 

PIH is a far-left organization that spouts Marxism and liberation theology. As we reported here in May, they have numerous ties to the Clinton Family, Bill Gates, and George Soros. Apparently their work in Ohio now includes hiring an army of liberal trolls to push mask mandates and more lockdowns on social media.

AmplifyOhio Instagram site is followed by several Ohio departments and agencies.