The University of Kansas Health System has had a slight increase in the number of active COVID-19 patients over the weekend. 11 people with the active virus are being treated, up from eight Friday. Of those patients, three are in the ICU, the same as Friday. One is on a ventilator, down from two Friday. 20 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 19 Friday. That’s a total of 31 patients, up from 27 Friday. HaysMed has three active COVID-19 inpatients, with one in the recovery phase, the same as Friday.
On today’s Morning Media Update, Ed O'Malley and Claudia Amaro with Kansas Leadership Center were back to update the Kansas Beats the Virus campaign. The goal was 1,000 community meetings before the end of last year to educate and lead on beating the virus.
Doctors first addressed several media questions. They advised not to worry if you lose your vaccine card, as it’s not designed to be a vaccine passport or a permanent document. They warned about proudly posting your card on social media, saying to be careful to block personal information such as a birth date. They also discussed the upcoming health system vaccinations of Johnson County residents and workers at the request of the health department and explained who’s eligible.
Ed O’Malley said his organization set the goal of 1000 Community Action Meetings across the state between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, and hit 851, which he calls “phenomenal,” especially during the holidays. These were groups of people throughout the state gathering together to discover what they could be for in their communities in order to help stop the spread of the pandemic. He said almost 7,000 people took part in these meetings. For those who were vaccine hesitant, he said they simply wanted to be heard, to have somebody listen to them and talk about their concerns without being dismissive or telling them how they should think. He explained that one of the biggest challenges is that residents of small towns feel a sense of security, because of their isolation, and don’t think they need to worry about COVID-19. His group’s goal is to engage them, listen to them, let them share their thoughts and feelings, share information, and get people they trust to convey information to help them with their decision about the vaccine.
Claudia Amato is one of the meeting facilitators and was happy that more than 200 Latinos around the state participated in the meetings. She said they have many concerns about the vaccine and don’t always trust mainstream messaging about them. She says they are looking for more ways to bring the facts, especially in Spanish, to Hispanic communities from local leaders whom they trust. While they still want more information, she says most of the Latinos she’s met in these meetings understand the importance the vaccine is for everyone in the community.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, warned about the virus variants and the fact that some people are reverting to pre-pandemic behavior, and worries we could see a surge in cases, especially after spring break. He reiterated the fact that the vaccine is safe for pregnant women, and he discussed the status of the AstraZenica vaccine, which has had some complications. He also pointed out that getting the disease is much worse than getting one of the safe vaccines, and how important it is to keep getting the message out that the vaccines help prevent hospitalizations and death.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, said spring break could be a perfect storm for COVID-19 with large gatherings, Florida and Texas mask requirements lessening, all of the variants and the relatively small number of young adults vaccinated. To those who say the vaccines are not FDA approved and people are being used for “animal research,” he says clearly, we are not animal research or the vaccines would not have approved at all, even for emergency use. He stressed they have been shown to be “incredibly effective,” with very few side effects. He believes there will soon be a “tidal wave of momentum and messaging,” that pushes people toward vaccination. He says we’ve bent, even “squashed the curve” in the past, and can’t afford to let up now.
Tuesday, March 16 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman joins us to talk in detail about a big announcement coming later this afternoon about exciting progress being in the vaccine rollout in Kansas. And Dr. Jennifer Villwock, otolaryngologist, will join us to talk about the long haulers’ clinic and in particular the work she is doing with patients who report a continued loss of taste and smell.
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