Morning Medical Update Friday 7-30-21

The numbers of COVID patients continue to hold steady at The University of Kansas Health System today. 35 patients with the active virus are being treated, the same as yesterday. 17 of those patients are in the ICU, same as yesterday. Nine patients are on ventilators, up from seven yesterday. 18 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 24 yesterday. That’s a total of 53 patients, down from 59 yesterday. The patients range in age from 22 to 97. HaysMed continues their increase of COVID patients with eight today, up from seven yesterday.

On today’s Morning Medical Update, Dr. Gary Morsch, founder of COVID Care Force, explained the need for volunteers as COVID surges. We also answered community questions including those we didn’t have time for earlier this week.

Dr. Morsch is an emergency medicine physician who’s used to reaching out to help others in time of crisis, having founded Heart to Heart International. When COVID first hit last year, he jumped into action again, this time organizing the COVID Care Force, whose mission was to get volunteer medical help to underserved hot spots of the country. He’s dispatched 100 medical teams to 30 different places in the United States and Mexico, including Native American populations such as the Chickasaw and Navajo Nations. He said thanks to a culture of respect for elders and tribal leaders, masking, curfews and finally vaccinations, COVID has been all but eliminated among the Navajos, who were the first population in America to reach herd immunity. A few months ago, it looked like his organization would transition to a more global reach, but he says this third wave of mostly the Delta variant has brought the need back to the U.S. along with a need for more volunteers. They need clinical help like doctors, and especially nurses, but non-clinical volunteers are needed too. All expenses are paid, and there may be a stipend for some. To volunteer, go to covidcareforce.org or call 913-489-7500.

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.

(2:30) If I’ve missed my window for getting my second dose of the vaccine, do I have to start over? No need to start over. Go ahead and get the second shot, even if it’s a couple of months late.
(14:20) My granddaughter, who is fully vaccinated, was exposed to a teenager who tested positive for COVID-19. She's not feeling well. Should she be tested? Should she quarantine? New guidance says if you are exposed and fully vaccinated, get tested within three to five days of exposure. Monitor for symptoms but no quarantine needed.
(16:15) Do we know if most of the seriously ill breakthrough patients had the same vaccine? Moderna, Pfizer, J&J? No good data available on which vaccine.
(17:10) Do the vaccines reduce transmission? Originally yes. But with the Delta variant, it’s looking like not quite as much. It will still keep you from serious illness, hospitalization and death.
(19:00) I'm curious about the safety of my 5-year-old and outdoor sports. Would it be best to not participate in sports right now? Outdoor sports and activities are safer than indoors.
(19:40) The vaccine reduces the risk of serious illness. Do fully vaccinated people die of COVID-19? Are they otherwise healthy or sick with other chronic conditions, too? The vast majority of seriously ill vaccinated patients have other medical problems besides COVID.
(20:45) I took the J&J vaccine. If boosters are allowed, should I or could I get an mRNA shot? (Pfizer or Moderna) There is no specific guidance on this yet, but it’s believed it will be safe.
(22:30) Would the doctors send their kids to a school this fall that does not require masks? School districts are struggling with the question of whether to require masking or not, but everyone agrees kids need to be in classrooms. Parents are free to have their kids, especially those under 12, wear masks, whether required or not.
(29:05) Everyone took their masks off, now hospitals are filling up with RSV and other respiratory illness. Is masking making us more susceptible to viruses in general? Masking is not making us more susceptible to viruses. Unmasking allows those viruses to be spread more easily.
(30:40) Recent polling shows a growing divide between Red and Blue party lines. How do we change the narrative from politics to public health to get more people vaccinated and masked? It’s in our DNA to not like people telling us what to do. It’s a time for humility and we need to follow the Native American example of acting in the best interest of the whole community.
(37:20) Will this virus ever just go away? No, but the hope is it will evolve into something we can live with, like the common cold.
(41:30) Is the transfer patient lottery currently running in the hospital or is it completely closed to transfers? No lottery to speak of. The hospital is simply full with both COVID and regular patients and only accepts transfers if space is available.
(43:05) How does social distancing play into the Delta variant? Is six feet still the recommendation? Six feet is better than three feet. Eight to ten feet is better than six feet, but not always possible. Masking and social distancing will definitely reduce the risk of disease spread.
(43:40) I have stage four cancer, I’m diabetic and have not been vaccinated. Is it safe for me to go to an outdoor concert next week if I wear a mask? The biggest concern is being unvaccinated only a week before the concert. There’s no time for a vaccine to take effect. Masking would be better than nothing, but you must assume that not everybody around you is vaccinated. It’s a matter of how much risk you’re willing to tolerate.
(46:40) If a person tests positive for COVID, is there still a ten-day quarantine? Yes, no change in guidance.
(47:00) If I’m vaccinated am I just as contagious as the unvaccinated? The latest information from the CDC says it does seem as if vaccinated people are able to replicate the same amount of virus as the unvaccinated, which is why the new masking guidelines were put into effect.

Monday, August 2 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Dr. Stites will be back. Also joining us, critical care physician Dr. Damien Stevens. He went to New York City in the early days of the pandemic. He compares what he experienced then to what we're seeing now in Missouri and Kansas.

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:

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(2:30) If I’ve missed my window for getting my second dose of the vaccine, do I have to start over? No need to start over. Go ahead and get the second shot, even if it’s a couple of months late.
(14:20) My granddaughter, who is fully vaccinated, was exposed to a teenager who tested positive for COVID-19. She's not feeling well. Should she be tested? Should she quarantine? New guidance says if you are exposed and fully vaccinated, get tested within three to five days of exposure. Monitor for symptoms but no quarantine needed.
(16:15) Do we know if most of the seriously ill breakthrough patients had the same vaccine? Moderna, Pfizer, J&J? No good data available on which vaccine.
(17:10) Do the vaccines reduce transmission? Originally yes. But with the Delta variant, it’s looking like not quite as much. It will still keep you from serious illness, hospitalization and death.
(19:00) I'm curious about the safety of my 5-year-old and outdoor sports. Would it be best to not participate in sports right now? Outdoor sports and activities are safer than indoors.
(19:40) The vaccine reduces the risk of serious illness. Do fully vaccinated people die of COVID-19? Are they otherwise healthy or sick with other chronic conditions, too? The vast majority of seriously ill vaccinated patients have other medical problems besides COVID.
(20:45) I took the J&J vaccine. If boosters are allowed, should I or could I get an mRNA shot? (Pfizer or Moderna) There is no specific guidance on this yet, but it’s believed it will be safe.
(22:30) Would the doctors send their kids to a school this fall that does not require masks? School districts are struggling with the question of whether to require masking or not, but everyone agrees kids need to be in classrooms. Parents are free to have their kids, especially those under 12, wear masks, whether required or not.
(29:05) Everyone took their masks off, now hospitals are filling up with RSV and other respiratory illness. Is masking making us more susceptible to viruses in general? Masking is not making us more susceptible to viruses. Unmasking allows those viruses to be spread more easily.
(30:40) Recent polling shows a growing divide between Red and Blue party lines. How do we change the narrative from politics to public health to get more people vaccinated and masked? It’s in our DNA to not like people telling us what to do. It’s a time for humility and we need to follow the Native American example of acting in the best interest of the whole community.
(37:20) Will this virus ever just go away? No, but the hope is it will evolve into something we can live with, like the common cold.
(41:30) Is the transfer patient lottery currently running in the hospital or is it completely closed to transfers? No lottery to speak of. The hospital is simply full with both COVID and regular patients and only accepts transfers if space is available.
(43:05) How does social distancing play into the Delta variant? Is six feet still the recommendation? Six feet is better than three feet. Eight to ten feet is better than six feet, but not always possible. Masking and social distancing will definitely reduce the risk of disease spread.
(43:40) I have stage four cancer, I’m diabetic and have not been vaccinated. Is it safe for me to go to an outdoor concert next week if I wear a mask? The biggest concern is being unvaccinated only a week before the concert. There’s no time for a vaccine to take effect. Masking would be better than nothing, but you must assume that not everybody around you is vaccinated. It’s a matter of how much risk you’re willing to tolerate.
(46:40) If a person tests positive for COVID, is there still a ten-day quarantine? Yes, no change in guidance.
(47:00) If I’m vaccinated am I just as contagious as the unvaccinated? The latest information from the CDC says it does seem as if vaccinated people are able to replicate the same amount of virus as the unvaccinated, which is why the new masking guidelines were put into effect.