The number of COVID patients at The University of Kansas Health System went down over the weekend. 58 with the active virus are being treated, down from 62 Friday, though one patient died Saturday. 25 patients are in the ICU, up from 24 Friday. 13 are on ventilators, down from 14 on Friday. 38 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 37 Friday. That’s a total of 96 patients, down from 99 on Friday. Doctors feel the numbers are steady because the health system is having to turn down transfer requests due to the ICU bed shortage. HaysMed has 12 patients up from 11 on Friday. Children’s Mercy reports 11 active COVID patients with three in the ICU.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, we were joined by the mother of a little girl who was recently diagnosed with COVID. Also, Dr. Angela Myers is the Infectious Diseases Division Director at Children's Mercy. She helped answer questions about COVID, kids, and the vaccine. Plus, word of a blood supply emergency in the Metro. Call the Community Blood Center at 877-468-6844 or sign up at savealifenow.org if you can donate.
For Jenna Sutter Brown’s four-year-old daughter Hazel, the symptoms came on suddenly on a Sunday night. As she was going to bed, she started having a cough and a runny nose, so they gave her some allergy medication. But an hour later she woke up with a fever and they decided to take Hazel to the doctor’s office the next morning. The first thing they tested for was strep, but Jenna requested a COVID test as well. Even though she was advised Hazel could return to her pre-school while waiting for the test results, Jenna and her husband decided to keep her home anyway. Turns out Hazel had COVID. After keeping her quarantined at home and letting the virus run its course, Hazel has recovered and is sleeping and eating a lot better. Jenna says the night before the diagnosis came back was the worst, as Hazel’s symptoms were bad, and they didn’t know for sure what was wrong. Hazel has been able to return to pre-school with a mask, which she wears very well. Jenna says this about masking kids, “It’s a lesson in authority. This is what you’re being asked to do. It’s not blind obedience, but it’s the best for your community and I want to instill that in my daughter as well.”
Dr. Myers said Jenna was right to push back at the doctor’s office when a COVID test wasn’t recommended. She said it’s always better to be safe and get tested because it’s such a huge public health issue. She says the most common symptoms in kids are coughing and runny nose, but if they are struggling to breathe or are breathing rapidly, get them to the doctor right away. She discussed the Wellington School District near Wichita, where masks were not required, closing until September 7 because of 40 COVID cases. She says that’s already happened in the Metro area at the Turner School District where 23 students and four staff got COVID in the first week back with no mask requirement. She reminds us that this year’s Delta variant is a lot more contagious than last year’s version so schools must be diligent in masking and distancing rules. She notes some schools are providing COVID tests, but for those that don’t, it’s the parent’s vital responsibility to let the school know if their child tests positive. She feels it’s not always best to leave health decisions such as masking in schools up to parents instead of health professionals. She says nationwide, there have been more than 450 child deaths from COVID since the beginning of the pandemic, when normally 100 to 150 kids die from the flu each year. She can’t stress enough that this is much worse than the flu, saying “It isn’t the same. It is more serious and can be deadly. I don’t want people to become complacent now about this virus. This is still very widespread in our community and is far more contagious than the previous versions of the infection.”
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, says it’s going to be hard to predict what this flu season will be like in The Unites States. Last year’s was non-existent because everyone was wearing a mask, but this year, with loosened restrictions, it could be worse. Even though cases are down in the southern hemisphere, which is usually the best predictor of cases for the U.S., different countries have different restrictions in place. As for flu shots and COVID boosters, he says they won’t be combined, but we should be OK to get them at or near the same time. He urges us not to put off screenings like colonoscopies over fear of the virus as every facility has safety protocols in place to keep it from spreading. He also believes it’s safe to let unvaccinated children play outdoors together. He says people who believe they are immune to COVID because they already had it have a false sense of security, especially with the Delta variant. The vaccine will give the best and more certain protection.
Tuesday, August 31 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. We know COVID can impact us and our loved ones. But what about our pets? Two Kansas State University virology and wildlife specialists weigh in on COVID in pets and the deer population and share warnings about the animal medication ivermectin being used off label by humans.
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.
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