The number of COVID patients at The University of Kansas Health System is slightly lower today. 63 patients with the active virus are being treated, down from 66 yesterday. Two COVID patients died yesterday. 28 of those active patients are in the ICU, up from 26 yesterday. 16 of them are on ventilators, up from 14 yesterday. 38 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 33 yesterday. That’s a total of 101 patients, up from 99 yesterday. It’s the first time in a while the health system has had more than 100 total patients. HaysMed has 13 patients today, up from 10 yesterday.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, we heard from Dr. Stites and three other chief medical officers in the Metro area who say July and August have been the deadliest months so far in the pandemic. Panelists were Dr. Lisa Hays from Advent Health, Dr. Mark Steele from Truman Medical Centers/University Health and Dr. Raghu Adiga from Liberty Hospital.
First on the program came word of a free vaccination clinic at the City Market this Saturday put on by the Kansas City Health Department using their mobile vaccination unit. Then Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, discussed several articles and audio interviews in the New England Journal of Medicine that say vaccine side effects, even though incredibly rare, are much safer than having COVID. He also noted the United States hit 100,000 hospitalizations for COVID yesterday for the first time since January 30. He says even though the number of cases in the Midwest is leveling, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise. AT 28:20 on the video, he showed a graphic of the mortality rate of COVID, which shows August shaping up to the be the deadliest month of the pandemic. All the other chief medical officers agreed their death rates are at the highest levels of the pandemic. He pointed out that the deaths are now almost all in unvaccinated people in their 30’s and 40’s. That’s a lot different from the early days when no vaccines were available, and the deaths were mostly among the elderly, who are now vaccinated. He also noted the Biden administration is suggesting boosters come at six months rather than eight months. He said now that the Pfizer vaccine has full FDA approval, we’re likely to see more businesses taking steps to require it of their workers. He says, “Mandatory vaccination has been well established with good legal precedent.” One company, Delta Airlines, announced it will begin charging unvaccinated employees an extra $200 a month for their health insurance. Dr. Stites understands the thinking, since the average bill for a Delta variant patient is $50,000. He says, “Delta makes you sick, and it’s a really expensive sick.” He noted 98 percent of the health system’s resident physicians have been vaccinated.
Both Liberty Hospital and Truman have made vaccination mandatory for their employees and their chief medical officers both say it’s going well. Dr. Steele from Truman said they have an ethical and professional duty to protect others, and it’s no different than requiring a flu or a Hepatitis B vaccine. Dr. Adiga from Liberty said the staff accepts the responsibility that comes with being a healthcare worker. Both Dr. Hays from Advent and Dr. Stites said their organizations are looking very closely at whether to do the same thing and said decisions will come soon. They discussed how COVID has allowed some non-clinical workers to work from home and all feel that is here to stay. Staffing and the length of stay for COVID patients continues to be a problem at all the hospitals, and even led to a 30-hour wait in the Emergency Department for a bed for one patient at Advent. They all agreed the full hospitals mean they can’t take transfer patients, and often must make painful decisions about severely ill patients. They all believe hospitals can’t make any more changes and it’s now up to the public to change their behavior by getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, and avoiding crowds. The hospitalizations and deaths, they say, are totally preventable. They say 96 percent of doctors are vaccinated, because they trust the vaccines and know it’s best for themselves, their families, and their patients.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, said, “Vaccinations are like seat belts. They aren’t going to protect you from getting into a car wreck. But if you are in a car wreck, it is significantly going to protect you from those worse outcomes like going through the windshield.” He noted the vaccines won’t keep you from getting COVID, but stressed, “They will protect people from going to the hospital, from severe disease and death.” He implores everyone to skip the social media headlines and seek trusted sources of information.
Friday, August 26 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. We will answer the community questions we didn’t have time for this 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.
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.