The number of COVID-19 patients with the active virus at The University of Kansas Health System is slightly lower today. Six are being treated, down from seven yesterday. Of those patients, one is in the ICU, the same as yesterday. 12 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 10 yesterday. That’s a total of 18 patients, up from 17 yesterday. HaysMed has one active and zero recovering patients, compared with one active and two recovering yesterday.
On today’s Morning Media Update, KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman returned with an update on the impact from the loss of public health workers across the state and the urgency to support mental health among healthcare workers everywhere.
Dr. Norman said the number of vaccinations in Kansas has dropped way off, from 100,000 a week to 8,500 a day. In his words, “We are putting the pedal to the metal in terms of vaccine hesitant, and a lot of people that I would call the vaccine lazy. They plan on getting it but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.” He says it calls for a more targeted approach than the mass vaccination clinics, even going to fishing holes behind dams to offer the shots. He thinks it’s less efficient, but the best they can do right now. He believes at that rate, it will take another seven months before the population is vaccinated enough to stop the virus. He says Kansas has a glut of the vaccines, and while none have expired, they are looking at other states, and even other countries to send them to before they do. He pointed out that COVID 19 has been the number one killer in Kansas over the past year while heart disease and cancer deaths have remained steady. He’s also worried about the loss of 37 health administrators and medical officers, 25 percent of the total public health workforce, who have vacated their position for a variety of reasons. Of the 55 state health officer jobs such as his in The United States and territories, 55 have turned over since March of last year. While everyone has been focused on COVID-19 in the state, there have been plenty of other health problems to tackle. Hepatitis A, for example, normally has about 15 cases a year, but has exploded to more than 400 in the last year. There have been syphilis outbreaks plus the normal clean air and water monitoring. He also mentioned that wastewater testing has been very helpful in predicting what will happen in the next week or two in a community. He noted that 70 percent of COVID-19 cases in Kansas are now from the variants, including two different variants from India. When it comes to KU basketball, which has the chance to be a super spreader event, he’s hopeful by the time the season starts enough people will have been vaccinated to make Allen Field House a safe place to be. He feels the so-called herd immunity, or community spread, will vary by county, and will be different around the state. He says Kansas is looking at a type of lottery, like Ohio, open to vaccinated people, and are working on a big event at the Kansas Speedway. He also warns that while the Kansas Legislature is looking to terminate the emergency declaration, it does not mean the emergency is done. He points to Taiwan and Canada, which he says let their guard down, and now face a big rise in cases.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, says we may never know the origins of the virus, but notes if it did transfer from bats to humans it would not be the first time, especially with so many people having contact with bats and other organisms as well. He stresses it’s important to remember early research shows all of the vaccines offer protection from the different variants. He also says the first boosters for the vaccine could be ready to give by this October, and believes, along with many experts, that the initial vaccine should be good for at least a year.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, presented figures on who has been vaccinated at the health system and its various medical practices. It shows a range from the 20’s all the way to several people 100 or older. He says vaccinations are available in most of the health system doctors’ offices, and the offices will be proactively contacting patients to arrange them. He says the health system, like the state of Kansas, has more vaccines than arms and agrees with Dr. Norman that there is no rational reason to avoid the vaccine.
Friday, May 28 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. It’s Friday follow-up with Amanda Cackler, director of quality and safety. We will also hear from Chelsey Smith, outreach coordinator with Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City. She will explain what's driving the current blood shortage.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
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