The number of active COVID-19 patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System is higher today. 87 people with the active virus are hospitalized, up from 82 yesterday. 55 patients are in the ICU, a big jump from 37 yesterday. 26 of those ICU patients are on ventilators today, up from 24 yesterday. 78 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 76 yesterday. That’s a total of 165 patients, up from 158 yesterday. In addition, HaysMed has a total of 30 COVID-19 inpatients, up from 26 yesterday, with 26 of those active patients and 4 in the recovery phase.
Doctors noted the overall trend is lower, but COVID-19 patients are still taking a lot of health system capacity and bed space.
On the Morning Media Update today, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Lee Norman joined with updates on vaccination and the virus spread.
Governor Kelly said she’s excited, but mostly relieved that, “We are truly turning a corner on the virus” with the newly available vaccine. She’s looking forward to reopening all businesses and getting all kids back to the classrooms. She reports that the Pfizer product has already been spread across the state and vaccinations have begun for frontline workers, and 49,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected next week. She says long-term vaccination plans for the general population are being developed, with most of the public able to receive the vaccine by late spring to early summer. She says there’s also a plan in place to help schools fully reopen classrooms sometime in the spring. She encourages us all to stay with it by wearing masks and avoiding social gatherings. She says help is on the way and we’ll be on the other side in a few months.
Dr. Norman said while the numbers seem to be leveling off, Kansas still had 4000 new cases over the weekend and 37 new deaths, which means there’s still a lot of work to do. He explained it’s not just hospitals receiving the vaccine, but local health departments and pharmacies. People will get the vaccine through hospitals, doctors’ offices, pharmacies, health departments and in some cases, including minority communities, mobile distribution sites. He said every Kansas county will be treated equally in the distribution. He added that the logistics of storage has been the biggest challenge so far. He reminded us that just because we have the vaccine is no reason to let our guard down and that it will take a long time to achieve the 80% vaccination rate to reach herd immunity. He’s worried about the impact of the whole holiday season, not just Thanksgiving, and thinks we may see the results of lax behavior until mid-January. He urges us all to show restraint with constant mask wearing and social distancing.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at the health system, says according to the data, the new Moderna vaccine is just as effective as the Pfizer vaccine. He’s very optimistic that with two similar vaccines, it will increase our ability to get it out to everybody who needs it. He believes that keeping the virus under control now is a matter of behavior. He feels it’s OK to be hesitant about the vaccine but urges everyone to do their own due diligence and seek honest and factual information.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at the health system, says after being on defense for the last 10 months, it feels great to finally be on the offense. He says with the two vaccines, it’s like having Patrick Mahomes as our quarterback. He said we must still keep up the defense because the power of wearing a mask, keeping your distance and washing your hands works. He urges us not to get cocky just because it’s finally going to be “game on” in the fight. He says, “We’re coming back and we’re coming back strong.”
Wednesday, December 15 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. We hear from a patient, Stacy Kimuyu from Great Bend. The 50-year-old didn't believe in mask wearing until she came down with COVID-19 and had to be put on a ventilator. She shares what she has learned and why she now believes in the power of masks.
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