The University of Kansas Health System reports a rise in the number of COVID patients today. 57 patients with the active virus are being treated, up from 54 yesterday. 21 of those patients are in the ICU, up from 16 yesterday. 14 of those patients are on ventilators, up from 10 yesterday. 33 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase. That’s a total of 90 patients. HaysMed has 14 total patients today, the same as yesterday. Children’s Mercy Hospital reports 14 positive COVID patients and have diagnosed 6,598 in their hospitals and clinics since the pandemic began in March of 2020.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, Mario Castro, MD, vice chair of Clinical and Translational Research at the KU School of Medicine. He's also a pulmonologist and brought us the latest on COVID research and treatments.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, began the discussion by saying case numbers in the Metro suggest the curve may be flattening, which is good news. But the problem, he says, is schools are now open and we’re just beginning to see the effects of large public gatherings like the Garth Brooks concert and a recent Royals game which drew 35,000 people. He’s nervous about the unvaccinated who are now filling the hospital ICU’s and says there’s pretty good guidance that we’re all going to need a booster. On that topic, he says there’s a difference between a third in a series of shots and a booster, which is what you would typically get eight months or more after your last dose. He would not be surprised to see that we will need an annual COVID booster shot. He says of the 400 COVID deaths at the health system only four have been vaccinated, and those four all had other severe disease. “You could have given them 27 shots and it wouldn’t have made a real difference because they had so many chronic critically ill issues.” He thinks as more and more public places require proof of vaccination to enter, we may see more of the hesitant get vaccinated. He says the pressure is definitely on the FDA to give final approval to vaccines for both kids and adults. But he reminds us that doesn’t mean they are rushing things. They have dedicated more people to looking at the same information they would have looked at whether there is a pandemic or not, which has actually caused other drugs to be delayed. Of the latest Delta variant surge, he says, “This should present us a real stark wakeup call. We’re overwhelmed, our teams are tired. We’re frickin’…you know, folks, we’re exhausted here. Give us a break.” He adds, “Quit believing the baloney and believe the science because we have no motivation to tell you otherwise. We just want you to take care of yourself.”
Dr. Castro said the boosters for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be the same as the original dose. He’s very optimistic we’ll have vaccines available for our kids this fall, and stressed in the meantime wearing masks in school works. He said monoclonal antibodies continue to be the best way to treat COVID within ten days of symptoms, but not in the hospital when the infection has likely run its course. Right now, it’s given as an infusion in an outpatient clinic, but studies are underway to see if it can simply be a shot in a doctor’s office or pharmacy. He believes they will be tweaked to treat the Delta variant. He says they are not approved for use by long haul patients and adds that there are no currently approved treatments for those patients. He described the three different clinical trials for monoclonal antibodies being done at the KU Medical Center. He also described two other non-COVID clinical trials he’s conducting, one for severe asthma patients and another for chronic bronchitis. To enroll in either, go to the company’s web site, or call Shelby Almo at the KU Medical Center, 913-574-3006. He also has a warning about flu season this year. He says because of unmasking and lack of vaccinations, we may see a surge in flu cases, unlike last year, and similar to what we’ve seen with RSV this year.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, said people still have a misconception that Ivermectin, a dog heartworm pill, is an effective treatment for COVID. He says there have been published reports claiming the drug’s effectiveness which have been rescinded because of inaccuracies, plagiarism, and falsified data. There have been no clinical trials on the drug and the FDA recommends against using it for COVID. He applauds the Turner School District, which changed its stance on masking for students and now requires it. He says it’s important to keep your vaccine card to make sure you get the same manufacturer’s product in your booster. If you lose your vaccine cared, he advises you contact the place where you got the vaccine, or the health department, for a replacement. He urges us not to be anxious about getting a booster and reminds health system patients they will be notified by MyChart when it’s time to schedule theirs.
Friday, August 20 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. The health system is denying transfers daily. Some of the stories we are hearing are heartbreaking. Dr. Tim Williamson talks about how we handle patient volume and transfer requests. We also answer community questions we didn’t get to during the week.
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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