COVID patient numbers continue to rise at The University of Kansas Health System today. 38 with the active virus are being treated, up from 35 yesterday. 11 of those patients are in the ICU, down from 12 yesterday. Seven are on ventilators, up from six yesterday. 22 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, the same as yesterday. That’s a total of 60 patients, up from 57 yesterday. These numbers are up significantly in the last seven to ten days.
Doctors also noted the city is critically low on blood. They urged everyone to call 877-468-6844 or go to savealifenow.org as soon as possible to make a donation appointment.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, both COVID and flu cases are on the rise all across the Metro. Joining Dr. Stites and Dr. Hawkinson for status reports were chief medical officers from several area hospitals. They include Dr. Lisa Hays from Advent Health Shawnee Mission, Dr. Mark Steele from University Health Truman Medical Center, Dr. Raghu Adiga from Liberty Hospital and Dr. Davin Turner from Mosaic Medical Center in St. Joseph.
All doctors reported a sharp rise in the number of COVID patients in the last two to three weeks. Liberty, for example, has jumped from six a month ago to 46 today. Those numbers are typical across the metro area, and reflect a concerning trend for all of the hospitals. All point out that the vast majority of the COVID patients are unvaccinated. None of the hospitals has had to begin limiting elective surgeries yet but say it’s possible if the surge continues. They say this jump in patients is just like the one from last November and December. They note this time it’s being driven by the unvaccinated. Adding to the problem, they say, is mask restrictions lifted, indoor large gatherings like Thanksgiving with no social distancing, and not enough people vaccinated. They all would like to see masks once again required in all schools. All of the hospitals have seen flu cases as well. Truman, for example, had none last year and has already had 22 this year. They all strongly urge everyone to get a flu shot and get a COVID shot or your booster if you have not had it. They say you can get both at the same time. As for how often we’ll need to get COVID booster shots in the future, they say it’s too soon to know, but we should expect them at some point.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control, says it’s not always easy to tell the difference between the flu and COVID, and the best way to know is to get tested as soon as you have symptoms. He notes the CDC is advising people to test at home before attending a large gathering, and if you have any symptoms at all, don’t go. He also says this year’s flu vaccine is formulated for four different strains.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, says, “Here we go again. What we’re seeing is what we were afraid of when the masking mandates went away.” He says we can see COVID converging on us from the north and west. He also says while the omicron variant may be more transmissible, so far it appears to be less severe than Delta, which is the variant we’re dealing with now. He’s hopeful for FDA approval soon of the Pfizer pill to treat COVID, calling it “a grand slam home run” if it does what’s promised to keep people out of the hospital. He reminds us we’ve bent the curve three times before, and we can do it again with vaccinations and masking.
Wednesday, December 8 at 8:00 a.m. is Open Mics With Dr. Stites. We’re joined by Dr. Barney Graham, who helped create many of the COVID vaccines we’re using today. Also, Dr. Robert Simari, executive vice chancellor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
NOTE: Journalists should rejoin the Morning Medical Update at 8am as doctors are growing too busy again for individual interview requests. Please bring questions or send to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu until further notice. Thanks for all you do and helping to keep the community safe with your reporting.
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