Another slight drop in the number of COVID-19 patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System today. 91 people with the active virus are hospitalized, down from 93 yesterday. 47 patients are in the ICU, up from 44 yesterday. 21 patients are on ventilators today, down from 23 yesterday. 46 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 45 yesterday. That’s a total of 137 patients, down from 138 yesterday. Three patients died overnight. In addition, HaysMed has 37 total COVID-19 inpatients with 4 of those patients in the recovery phase, down from 40 yesterday.
On the Morning Media Update today, KU Chancellor Dr. Doug Girod and Chris Wilson, VP of System Innovation and Integration at the health system talked about sending college kids home for the holidays and bringing them back in the New Year safely.
Dr. Girod explained how KU students have left the campus for Thanksgiving after exit testing and described what testing will look like when they return for the 2nd semester next year, which will start a week later and have no spring break. He said all of the measures taken to keep the virus from spreading on the campus, including 39,000 tests, reconfiguring classrooms and mandatory masks, even outside, were successful, with no documented cases of the disease being spread on campus in any official setting. He said the university thrived compared to many around the country which had to close campuses early in the semester because of the disease. He’s worried that Thanksgiving may be a bigger virus-spreading event than Halloween, which is why all sporting events, including Jayhawk basketball, will have no fans for the first few weeks of December. Head basketball coach Bill Self had these words of encouragement in a video for fans. Girod hopes the vaccine will be available sometime in the second semester and will most likely be required for those in campus housing. He believes there is still a lot of work ahead and everyone must buckle down adding that it’s not just the University’s responsibility but each individual’s responsibility.
Chris Wilson discussed the great collaboration among the health system, the University and the city of Lawrence which helped keep the positivity rate for COVID-19 on campus at under five percent, making KU one of the safest spots in the state. He hopes for an increase in the access to testing in the next six months. He also described what a student’s home quarantine might look like and said a lot depends on their activities the week before they came home. He also pointed out a KU researcher’s study that shows the larger the crowd and the less familiar you are with the group you’re with, the more likely you are to wear a mask. On the other hand, the more familiar and smaller the crowd you’re in the less likely you are to wear a mask.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, says we need to remember we’re all in this together, and there’s light at the end of the tunnel when the vaccine is available. His advice for those who fear the vaccine is to look at the published studies for the safety information. He says, contrary to what some believe, you can get reinfected with COVID-19. Published studies show it can happen 90 days after first infection. Even someone who has had the virus must continue to follow the pillars of infection prevention. He reminds us that even though our usual Thanksgiving traditions, like large family dinners and seeing the Plaza Lighting Ceremony in person can’t happen this year, we should be able to enjoy them again next year.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health system, said the low rate of infection on the KU campus this fall shows the principles of infection prevention work. Not following those principles, he says, is a gamble that will eventually catch up to you. He believes more workplaces will require the vaccine of all employees once it has full approval from the FDA and is past the initial emergency use authorization phase. He asks, “Who are your heroes and what would they do?” He says our greatest heroes are ourselves and we can’t just wait around for vaccines. He advises, “Let’s all be heroes this Thanksgiving.”
Monday, November 30 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update as we take tomorrow and Friday off to safely celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. On Monday we’ll answer questions about testing including the toll this virus is taking on a small, but mighty team of lab workers. Rachael Liesman, the director of our microbiology lab and Rick Couldry, VP of Pharmacy Health Professions are the guests.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
The meeting is available by Zoom, both video and by phone. To join the Zoom Meeting by video, click https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
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For those without Zoom, call 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID: 782 897 8628.
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Feel free to send questions in advance to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.