You can submit via his contact page here or email governorsoffice@governor.ohio.gov  and use the sample message below. It is recommended that you personalize a bit to state your name and explain your T1D connection – whether you are a person living with T1D, a parent, spouse, son or daughter, sibling, etc.

Sample Letter: 

I was disappointed to read that vaccination would be limited to  people with “severe type 1 diabetes requiring hospitalization within the past year.” This shows a misunderstanding of the disease. People with T1D must manage their blood sugars and insulin dosage day in and day out. The same person could have good control of his or her blood sugars one week and not the next. The latest research shows that people who contract COVID-19 and have diabetes have three to four times higher risk of severe illness and hospitalization, compared to people without diabetes. Additional research shows that even young, otherwise healthy patients with T1D who get COVID-19 remain at an increased risk for poor outcomes, such as hospitalization due to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is a life-threatening complication of the disease. In a study by the T1D Exchange, 47% of patients with T1D who were hospitalized with COVID-19 had DKA. A Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology in the U.K. study found that being admitted to a critical-care hospital unit, or dying, was more than twice as likely for patients with T1D.

Given the higher risks of severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19, we urge you to prioritize access to the COVID-19 vaccine for those with T1D without limitations when enough vaccine becomes available to do this.