The number of COVID-19 patients The University of Kansas Health System is holding steady today. 11 people with the active virus are being treated, the same as yesterday. Of those patients, four are in the ICU, up from three yesterday. One is on a ventilator, same as yesterday. 15 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 20 yesterday. That’s a total of 26 patients, down from 31 yesterday. HaysMed has three active COVID-19 inpatients, with one in the recovery phase, the same as yesterday.
On today’s Morning Media Update, KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman joined us to talk in detail about yesterday’s big announcement on the vaccine rollout in Kansas. And Dr. Jennifer Villwock, an ear, nose and throat surgeon, discussed the Long Haulers Clinic and in particular the work she is doing with patients who report a continued loss of taste and smell.
Dr. Norman discussed the announcement he and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly made yesterday that next Monday the state will move to a combined phase three and four in the vaccine distribution schedule. He explained why this was a good time for the move and described the groups of people who will now be eligible. He said rather than bog down mass vaccination clinics by requiring everyone to show a lot of proof they fit the category, they will rely on a spirit of fairness and honesty, but proof is also good if you have it. The state is expecting a big influx of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a couple of weeks, and a steadily increasing supply of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines from 40,000 a week in January to 140,000 a week today has made this possible. He believes pharmacists will be the biggest vaccinators when supplies increase. He has a big concern about St. Patrick’s Day partiers, especially at K-State, and calls plans for festivities there “a really bad idea,” adding, “this can absolutely be a super spreader event.” He’s also concerned by news that some counties want to do their own thing by not following statewide plans and says, “To turn public health authority over to a legislative committee or an attorney general is ill advised.” He warns us not to let our guard down because “COVID-19 is not gone and it’s not forgotten.”
Dr. Villwock has been working with a lot of COVID-19 patients who lost their sense of taste and smell, one of the common symptoms of the disease. She says while the majority of patients will recover those senses, six months down the road from their infection, 20% of patients still have not. She explained the science behind why this happens and said for many people she’s able to help then retrain their sense of smell and discussed how that works. She also described two research studies to help these patients and provided a web site for those who would like to participate in the study to register. She discussed qualifications for being referred to the Long Hauler Clinic, which for now is for current health system patients only but expects it to be open to the general public in the near future. She also feels it’s going to be a long time before we’re able to do away with masks for school kids.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, discussed the recent negative news about the AstraZeneca vaccine, still in trial, and the investigation into whether it causes blood clots. He says it’s still endorsed by the World Health Organization and that we need to see all of the data before making any premature decisions on its use. He says it’s remarkable that of the one million flu tests administered across the country this season, only 1,764 cases have been reported and credits our increased observance of infection control measures due to COVID-19.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, believes we need to wait until we have clear guidance from the CDC on mask wearing, and says it’s too soon to act like things are normal because they are not. He says, “It’s not forever, but it is for right now.” He says we need to keep up the pillars of infection prevention wherever we are and reminds that the sooner we all get vaccinated, the sooner we can start to get back to a more normal life.
Wednesday, March 17 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. It marks our 250th episode and we've invited two special guests: U. S. Senators Jerry Moran from Kansas and Roy Blunt from Missouri. Together we are going to look back over a year of this pandemic and take a look ahead.
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