The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System is slightly lower today. Five people with the active virus are being treated, down from six yesterday. Of those patients, three are in the ICU, up from one yesterday. One patient is on ECMO life support, a 54-year-old with no other medical problems but is not vaccinated. The number of recovering patients, those still in the hospital but out of the active infectious phase, is four, the same as yesterday. That’s nine total patients, down from ten yesterday. HaysMed continues to have no COVID-19 patients.
On today’s Morning Media Update, Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, was joined by Lance Williamson, Infection Prevention and Control nurse supervisor at the health system and Dr. Angela Myers, division director for Infectious Diseases at Children's Mercy. She helped answer questions about vaccines and kids. Also joining was Chelsey Smith, outreach coordinator with Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City, to tell us about a blood emergency.
Before getting to community questions, Chelsey Smith said the Community Blood Center has declared an emergency blood shortage and needs donors immediately. She explained there has been a blood shortage since the pandemic began because of a lack of donors and blood drives Blood use is way up now because more people are outside and active and doctors are getting to a backlog of surgeries delayed in the pandemic. She says, “A lot of blood is going out the door but not a lot of blood is coming in.” They have a three-day overall supply, but a one-day supply of the most common O positive and O negative types. Go to savealifenow.org to register. She said the need is so urgent they’re even taking walk-ins without appointments.
Here are the media and community questions in the order the panel addressed them, followed by the short answer. Time code for the question is in parentheses. See the video for their full answers and comments.
- (7:00) With more places reopening and rules relaxing, what are your concerns moving into the summer? A false sense of security for those who are unvaccinated.
- (9:20) Do we prescribe ivermectin for COVID-19 patients? No, current NIH treatment guidelines say there is not enough information to advocate for or against its use.
- (11:50) How soon before those under 12 will have a vaccine? No specific time is known, but the medical community hopes for early fall, around the time school starts.
- (12:10) What do you think about reports of the mRNA vaccines being linked to myocarditis? Current studies have not shown a link, but research is ongoing. The cases so far have been short-lived, transient problems, and not too significant.
- (14:45) Should parents continue to get their kids vaccinated? Absolutely! The benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risk of any adverse event from the vaccine and the risk of getting COVID-19.
- (15:25) Should kids who are not vaccinated, particularly under 12, go crowded outdoor events or summer camp? It’s okay for a kid to be at an outdoor event around vaccinated adults. If a huge outdoor event, the child should still wear a mask and keep a distance from those around them.
- (16:35) Do parents think the risk to their children from the virus is low and refuse to “take a risk” on the vaccine? Yes, but COVID-19 is a vaccine-preventable disease, like the flu, and several million kids in our country have caught the virus. Skipping the vaccine is not worth the risk.
- (18:40) I have O negative blood but am on Tamoxifen for breast cancer. Can I donate? For answers to specific questions such as this, call the Community Blood Center’s medical team at 800-688-0900.
- (19:40) How long after getting the vaccine do I have to wait before donating blood? No wait if you received an mRNA vaccine.
- (20:10) Is the risk of COVID-19 greater for an 11- year-old than the risk of the vaccine? Yes, much greater. It’s true for adults too.
- (21:15) My grandson turns 12 in a month and is due to start dupixent. Does he need to delay the start until he has full immunity from both of the vaccine shots he plans to get? Get the vaccine as soon as he turns 12 and no need to delay starting the other medicine.
- (22:30) Someone I know suffered strokes after each dose of the mRNA vaccine. Have mRNA vaccines been linked to strokes? No, they have not.
- (23:35) About two dozen states have decided to scale back their daily tracking of COVID-19 cases. Does that worry you? What is the downside of not tracking the infection rate? Not too worried because staffing changes are inevitable and it’s best to follow current guidelines. The real bellwether of COVID-19 cases will be the number of hospitalizations.
- (26:10) Will the health system continue to track cases? Where do you report that data? Yes, all cases are reported to the State of Kansas.
- (27:25) Some states report they have vaccine doses that are set to expire. Dr. Fauci said the FDA might extend expiration dates. How do you do that? How are expiration dates set? Lab testing has shown it’s safe because the components of the vaccine are not breaking down and are still causing an appropriate immune reaction.
- (28:40) Is it true that as more adults get vaccinated, the virus will plague children who are not vaccinated or can't be vaccinated? We are seeing the proportion of children hospitalized increase compared to adults.
- (29:55) My five-year-old just resumed one-on-one speech therapy with a vaccinated therapist. Do I need to do anything special when we get home? Nothing beyond hand washing is needed.
- (30:50) Air travel is surging. With bigger crowds, is it safe to fly this summer? If you are vaccinated, yes.
- (32:00) Is it safe for my boys to return to their martial arts lessons? They are too young to be vaccinated. It’s safe as long as the instructors are vaccinated and spacing between kids is adequate.
- (33:10) The Sedgwick County Health Department is cutting their hours of operation as demand for vaccine drops, but Sedgwick County has half the new variant cases. Is that smart? There is always a need to balance the workforce with what’s needed to keep the vaccines distributed. There are still many ways to get the vaccine.
- (35:20) Linn County, Missouri continues to have some of the highest infection rates in the country and now COVID-19 hospitalizations are up in Southwest Missouri. Is this spike in cases from Linn County? Hard to tell if that’s the cause, but rural counties have a much lower percent of vaccine uptake than larger metropolitan areas.
- (37:20) I'm worried there are clearly sick people at my workplace, coughing and sneezing. How do you know if it's a cold or COVID-19? If you’re feeling ill, get tested, and stay home until you know for sure.
- (39:20) The J&J vaccine was paused for possible blood clots. Why aren’t they pausing mRNA vaccines over concerns of myocarditis? Blood clots are much more serious and could be fatal. Myocarditis is resolved within a few days with anti-inflammatory medicine.
Monday, June 14 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. Monday is national blood donor awareness day and we had been planning a special update for some time. We will go back to the Community Blood Center and watch as a long-time donor gives blood and listen as he shares his story. We'll also hear from a mother who received a life saving donation during childbirth. We’ll also hear more about what’s causing the current blood shortage crisis.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
The meeting is available by Zoom, both video and by phone. To join the Zoom Meeting by video, click https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
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