Morning Medical Update Friday 10-1-21

The University of Kansas Health System reports its number of COVID patients has risen today. 32 with the active virus are being treated, up from 28 yesterday. Just seven of them are vaccinated. Eight patients are in the ICU, the same as yesterday, and none are vaccinated. Six are on ventilators, down from seven yesterday. 35 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 34 yesterday. That’s a total of 67 patients, up from 62 yesterday.

On today’s Morning Medical Update, Dr. Marc Parrish, an OBGYN at The University of Kansas Health System, joins Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at the health system and Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control. The three answered media and community questions, especially around vaccines and pregnancy.

Before getting to today’s topic, doctors discussed a health alert just in from the CDC advising all women to get a COVID vaccine as soon as possible, before or during pregnancy. Dr. Parrish is not surprised by the advisory and said that echoes what the health system’s own OBGYN experts, as well as their national organizations, have been advising for months. He says a lot of data over the last eight months shows the vaccines are completely safe and cause no fertility problems or side effects. However, he says unvaccinated pregnant women who get COVID have been suffering increased miscarriages, stillbirth, and preterm birth.

Here are the media and community questions in the order the panel addressed them, followed by the short answer. The time code for the question is in parentheses. See the video for their full answers and comments.

(7:40) Merck announced a pill for treating COVID they say prevents severe illness and hospitalization by 50%. What do we know about it? It’s an important tool, but it’s not the answer right now. Vaccinations and masking are the answers to prevention. The pill has yet to be examined by the FDA, and if approved, will only be used to treat COVID in its early stages, like monoclonal antibodies.
(15:25) A contestant on Dancing With the Stars tested positive for COVID. He’s vaccinated and it is his second infection this year. How rare is that? His symptoms the second time were milder. Is this evidence breakthrough infections are less severe? It is harder, but not impossible to get infected after vaccination. If you got it twice it probably means you’re not doing the right thing around masking and distancing. The vaccine did its job by lessening the symptoms.
(16:40) Several scientists have said they believe Delta will be our last bad surge. What do the doctors think? They are not optimistic because virus mutations are related to behavior. Right now, not enough people are vaccinated and wearing masks to stop COVID.
(20:35) What if a pregnant woman has high COVID antibodies after having COVID? Are you still recommending they get the shot? Yes. Antibodies are good but there is no guarantee they will protect you against severe illness and death like a vaccine.
(25:00) If I had complications from childhood vaccinations, like seizures, can I expect the same from the COVID vaccine? No.
(25:45) I've heard if you have severe reaction to the shot it means you have a strong immune system and it's trying to fight back. If you had no effects from the shot it means you have a weaker immune system and are the ones who really need the booster. Any truth to this? There is no correlation between reaction from the vaccination and how effective it is.
(26:30) If a person is recovering after COVID pneumonia is it most likely there will be some sort of lung damage? There’s no clear answer. It depends how much lung scarring is involved and not everyone with COVID pneumonia has it.
(27:35) Any news on when the Moderna booster will be available? No clear news yet, but you still have very good protection from the original vaccination.
(30:40) Would you recommend a third Pfizer shot for a pregnant woman with gestational diabetes? That condition does not put them in a higher risk category, thus not needing a booster.
(31:35) Is there a difference between COVID pneumonia lungs and regular pneumonia lungs? There’s no real difference between that and regular pneumonia. Both can cause lung damage.
(32:44) If someone is admitted to the hospital with COVID, can they say they don’t want a certain medication and ask for a different medication? Doctors will always work with patients, within reason, on their treatment. But if someone asks for Ivermectin for COVID, we’re not going to prescribe it because it’s not effective and we’re under no obligation to offer therapy that’s not effective and could be harmful.
(36:30) I’m flying to Florida next week. I have protective glasses and an N95 mask. Do I still need to wipe everything down? Because the virus is airborne, it’s more important that you wear a mask and eye protection both in the airport and on the plane. Hand washing is also very important.
(37:35) What does “early on in the disease” mean? It refers to the time up to ten days from the onset of symptoms or a positive test.
(38:10) What do we know about the Mu variant and other variants that are showing up in other countries today? The Delta variant is different. It is outcompeting all of the others in the world and is still the biggest concern.
(39:45) My mom is 93 with heart failure. Any disadvantage to getting the Moderna booster? The official guidance is Moderna is not yet approved for boosters. Unofficially it’s more than likely safe.
(41:00) Do you think the vaccine for kids 12 and under will really make that much of a difference regarding population immunity? A recent poll showed only about a third of parents will get their kids vaccinated. It will help prevent the spread of the disease, especially among older people like grandparents that kids interact with. Just because you’re young does not mean you won’t get sick from COVID.
(42:40) How effective will the new possible COVID pill be compared to monoclonal antibodies? Not enough data to tell. Right now, monoclonal antibodies look more effective.

Monday, October 4 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. We’ll discuss second opinions and where you get them. We’ll be joined by breast surgical oncologist Dr. Jamie Wagner and hear from a patient who received a second opinion. It changed her diagnosis and treatment and ultimately her outcome.

NOTE: Journalists should rejoin the Morning Medical Update at 8am as doctors are growing too busy again for individual interview requests. Please bring questions or send to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu until further notice. Thanks for all you do and helping to keep the community safe with your reporting.

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

Telephone dial-in Participants: For those without Zoom, call 1-312-626-6799, meeting ID: 782 897 8628.

The feed is also available via TVU grid. The TVU source is UoK_Health and is being made available to all.

Feel free to send questions in advance to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.

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(7:40) Merck announced a pill for treating COVID they say prevents severe illness and hospitalization by 50%. What do we know about it? It’s an important tool, but it’s not the answer right now. Vaccinations and masking are the answers to prevention. The pill has yet to be examined by the FDA, and if approved, will only be used to treat COVID in its early stages, like monoclonal antibodies.
(15:25) A contestant on Dancing With the Stars tested positive for COVID. He’s vaccinated and it is his second infection this year. How rare is that? His symptoms the second time were milder. Is this evidence breakthrough infections are less severe? It is harder, but not impossible to get infected after vaccination. If you got it twice it probably means you’re not doing the right thing around masking and distancing. The vaccine did its job by lessening the symptoms.
(16:40) Several scientists have said they believe Delta will be our last bad surge. What do the doctors think? They are not optimistic because virus mutations are related to behavior. Right now, not enough people are vaccinated and wearing masks to stop COVID.
(20:35) What if a pregnant woman has high COVID antibodies after having COVID? Are you still recommending they get the shot? Yes. Antibodies are good but there is no guarantee they will protect you against severe illness and death like a vaccine.
(25:00) If I had complications from childhood vaccinations, like seizures, can I expect the same from the COVID vaccine? No.
(25:45) I've heard if you have severe reaction to the shot it means you have a strong immune system and it's trying to fight back. If you had no effects from the shot it means you have a weaker immune system and are the ones who really need the booster. Any truth to this? There is no correlation between reaction from the vaccination and how effective it is.
(26:30) If a person is recovering after COVID pneumonia is it most likely there will be some sort of lung damage? There’s no clear answer. It depends how much lung scarring is involved and not everyone with COVID pneumonia has it.
(27:35) Any news on when the Moderna booster will be available? No clear news yet, but you still have very good protection from the original vaccination.
(30:40) Would you recommend a third Pfizer shot for a pregnant woman with gestational diabetes? That condition does not put them in a higher risk category, thus not needing a booster.
(31:35) Is there a difference between COVID pneumonia lungs and regular pneumonia lungs? There’s no real difference between that and regular pneumonia. Both can cause lung damage.
(32:44) If someone is admitted to the hospital with COVID, can they say they don’t want a certain medication and ask for a different medication? Doctors will always work with patients, within reason, on their treatment. But if someone asks for Ivermectin for COVID, we’re not going to prescribe it because it’s not effective and we’re under no obligation to offer therapy that’s not effective and could be harmful.
(36:30) I’m flying to Florida next week. I have protective glasses and an N95 mask. Do I still need to wipe everything down? Because the virus is airborne, it’s more important that you wear a mask and eye protection both in the airport and on the plane. Hand washing is also very important.
(37:35) What does “early on in the disease” mean? It refers to the time up to ten days from the onset of symptoms or a positive test.
(38:10) What do we know about the Mu variant and other variants that are showing up in other countries today? The Delta variant is different. It is outcompeting all of the others in the world and is still the biggest concern.
(39:45) My mom is 93 with heart failure. Any disadvantage to getting the Moderna booster? The official guidance is Moderna is not yet approved for boosters. Unofficially it’s more than likely safe.
(41:00) Do you think the vaccine for kids 12 and under will really make that much of a difference regarding population immunity? A recent poll showed only about a third of parents will get their kids vaccinated. It will help prevent the spread of the disease, especially among older people like grandparents that kids interact with. Just because you’re young does not mean you won’t get sick from COVID.
(42:40) How effective will the new possible COVID pill be compared to monoclonal antibodies? Not enough data to tell. Right now, monoclonal antibodies look more effective.