The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System is down today. Eight people with the active virus are being treated, down from 13 Friday. Of those patients, two are in the ICU, down from four Friday. One of those patients is on a ventilator, down from three Friday. 15 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 17 Friday. That’s a total of 23 patients, down from 30 on Friday. HaysMed reports one active COVID-19 patient today. Doctors say they are pretty happy with the numbers and think unless variants or spring break cause a surge, we’ll stay at the 5-15 patient range for the foreseeable future.
On today’s Morning Media Update, we looked at whether COVID-19 causes diabetes. There have been reports that some people treated for COVID-19 are later diagnosed with diabetes. Dr. David Robbins, director of the KU Diabetes Institute, joined us to sort it all out, and we talked with one of his diabetes patients who caught COVID-19.
Dr. Robbins says while we don’t have the answer to whether SARS- CoV-2 causes diabetes, the vast majority of studies has shown that there is a very high uptick in both Type 1 diabetes, which manifests itself in younger people and Type 2 diabetes, which comes more toward middle age. For that second category, he says one explanation may be those who got COVID-19 may have been pre-diabetic and it pushes them over to diabetes that they would have gotten anyway. Another possibility for why diabetics may be hit harder by COVID-19 is they already have a high level of inflammation. He also noted that the virus affects people of color and minorities more often than Caucasians and upper middle-class people, though he says there is no proven reason why. He discussed the typical symptoms of diabetes such as weight loss or heavy water consumption and says for most, it’s discovered incidentally during an annual physical exam. He adds that staying thin and exercising are the best ways to reduce the risk of diabetes. He says having an illness such as COVID-19 for a diabetic is always a challenge, but stresses that the vaccine is very safe for those patients and it’s the best thing they can do for their health.
George Beck teaches students at a Hutchison, Kansas trade school how to build buildings. He is a Type 2 diabetic and a patient of Dr. Robbins. He caught COVID-19 in January, and his symptoms were so severe, he thought he was going to die. He described the pressure on his chest and the difficulty breathing. He recovered but has lingering effects and gets winded easily. He thinks he caught the virus from his daughter, and while his whole family tested positive, none had symptoms as severe as his. He admits he has questions about the vaccine, is anxious about potential long-term effects and says even Dr. Robbins can’t ease all of his fears. Some of that, he says, goes back to times he got a flu shot and then got the flu. But he says he trusts Dr. Robbins and will probably get vaccinated in the next few weeks. He tells his students to do whatever they can not to be diagnosed with diabetes. He admits when he was their age he thought, like they do, that he was invincible. He stresses to them they need to think about their health now rather than wait till later and find out they have an irreversible problem.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, sees diabetic patients all the time and agrees that the vaccine is very safe for them and will keep them out of the hospital. He says there are active investigations looking at the anecdotal stories that the vaccines are helping long haulers with their symptoms. He says we are nearing the end of the flu season with record low numbers of cases and we have to be careful not to let our guard down next fall and still get a flu shot.
David Wild, MD, VP of at The University of Kansas Health System, is in for Dr. Stites. He anticipates we’ll need a yearly booster of the COVID-19 vaccine, like we get for the flu. He pointed out the difference between the flu shot and the COVID-19 shot. With the flu, he says, scientists give their best estimate in the spring of which strain will be prevalent in the fall, which is why some people who get the shot still get the flu. The COVID-19 vaccine, however, is specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. He also says now that Kansas is opening vaccinations to everyone 16 and over, with Missouri doing the same April 9, the demand may be higher than the supply for a few weeks. But he stressed how important it is to keep trying. He also said if you’re on one waiting list and another location can get you in sooner it’s best to call the first place to let them know you’re not coming. For the vaccine hesitant, he encourages them to seek advice from a trusted source, like George did with Dr. Robbins. He says there are signs much of the country is seeing cases increase rapidly and reminds us this is not over, and we must be both patient and vigilant in observing the pillars of infection prevention.
Tuesday, March 30 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman back to answer questions and update the vaccine roll out across Kansas, including moving into phase five as of today.
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