The number of COVID-19 patients with the active virus at The University of Kansas Health System has dropped today. Three are being treated, none of whom had been admitted with COVID-19 symptoms, down from seven yesterday. Of those patients, none are in the ICU or on ventilators, the first time in more than a year that’s happened. Yesterday two were in the ICU with one on a ventilator. 13 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, up from ten yesterday. That’s a total of 16 patients, down from 17 yesterday. HaysMed has one active and two recovering patients, after reporting two active patients and one recovering yesterday.
On today’s Morning Media Update, Dr. Roopa Sethi, Addiction Clinic Medical Director, and Dr. Teresa Long, Psychiatrist, joined to talk about pain, opioid dependency verses addiction, and changes in guidelines that could be creating barriers to healthcare.
Before getting into the discussion, doctors noted while the drop in COVID-19 patients is great news, it will still be a couple of weeks before we see if lifting mask requirements has had any effect on the number of cases. They also pointed out that other area hospitals are reporting slight increases in their numbers. And they discussed news just out that Moderna says its vaccine is 100 percent effective in 12 to17-year-olds.
Dr. Long said the demand for mental health services has gone way up in the pandemic. The problems have really escalated for those with underlying anxiety disorders. For many of them their coping mechanism of spending time with others has been taken away, leading to even more anxiety and depression. It’s worse, she says, for the patients she treats for pain. She discussed many of the signs and symptoms to look for and urged anyone who thinks something isn’t right to seek help. Her philosophy for pain medication for her patients is the best function at the lowest dose. She believes it’s hard to try to feel normal as society begins to emerge from the pandemic, even if you’ve been fully vaccinated. She says it’s OK to take your time and do what makes you feel safe, but we should all try to get back into the world and bring back some of that interaction that’s good for our souls.
Dr. Sethi, who treats patients for addiction, says there’s a distinction between those who are dependent on opioids and those who are addicted, with different ways of helping each. Most people are surprised to find out it can happen to anyone, and she gave two common examples of older patients who became addicted to their pain medication, and the ways they are being treated. She says you know you’re addicted to opiates when your focus is on “chasing the pill,” and needing higher and higher doses. She also warned about fake oxycontin pills being sold on the street, usually containing fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times stronger and can be deadly. Her best advice is if you or a family member have noticed a change in behavior, get help from an addiction treatment center as soon as possible.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, says hospitalizations will be the bellwether for the COVID-19 virus since testing is down. With children now being vaccinated, he says it’s getting us one step closer to that 80 to 85 percent rate we need for herd immunity, but he adds we have a long way to go. His advice for those wanting to go on a cruise is to be very cautious, unless the cruise line has some way to verify that all on board have been fully vaccinated. He urges parents to get their kids to the pediatrician for the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as all of their usual vaccinations.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, fears there is still too much vaccine hesitancy and denial and some vaccine doses may expire without being used. He thinks a lot of people who had the disease believe they’re safe and don’t want to get the vaccine but says nobody knows how long that immunity will last. He says there’s a disconnect between the number of people vaccinated and places like Kauffman Stadium opening to full capacity next week. He feels if those who have had the disease will get the vaccine it will really drive the numbers down. He urges us to remember as we go back into public, the rules of infection prevention follow us everywhere and will keep us safe, especially if we have doubts about whether those around us have been fully vaccinated.
Wednesday, May 26 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update, our 300th episode. We continue our focus on mental health as the month of May winds down. We have a patient who will join us with her doctor. Olivia Ashbrook struggled with anxiety during the pandemic. Her psychologist, Dr. Greg Nawalanic joins to share how together they tackled Olivia's worries and fears.
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