There has been a decrease in the number of COVID patients at The University of Kansas Health System today. 12 with the active virus are being treated, down from 18 yesterday. Six patients are in the ICU, down from seven yesterday. Two are on ventilators, the same as yesterday. 24 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 29 yesterday. That’s a total of 36 patients, down from 47 yesterday. HaysMed reports 11 patients with the active infection and eight in the recovery phase, for a total of 19.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, Children’s Mercy Infectious Disease Division Director Dr. Angela Myers joined Pediatrician Dr. Stephen Lauer from The University of Kansas Health System to answer questions on the expected approval of vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds.
Dr. Myers expects the Pfizer vaccine for kids 5 to 11 will be approved for use today, and believes those children will be able to get the shot within a few days. Most pediatrician’s offices, including those at the health system, are already getting set up to distribute the vaccine, and will get the word out to parents as soon as it’s ready to go. The vials themselves will be different from the adult dose, with an orange cap vs. a purple one, and will contain more doses with a slightly different formulation than the adult version. To those parents who wonder whether their child who’s almost 12 should wait to get the adult dose, she says don’t wait. It only increases their risk of getting COVID and she says the child formula will provide up to 95 percent protection. She explained that height and weight are not as important as age in giving a vaccine for a virus. That’s unlike prescribing antibiotics for a bacteria, which is completely different. People think kids are not as affected by COVID, but the numbers tell a different story, with nearly two million infected since the pandemic began. They are also far more likely to get myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, from COVID than from the vaccine. In the very rare cases where it develops after being vaccinated, it always goes away in a couple of days. It tends to be a long-term problem from COVID itself. She also says there is no risk of infertility from the kids’ vaccine. She hails the vaccine as, “a fantastic game changer,” in our fight against the virus.
Dr. Lauer says there are three kinds of parents in his clinic. The first are those who can’t wait to get their kids vaccinated when it’s ready. The second, for whatever reason, say there’s no way they’ll ever get their kids vaccinated. The third group is the one that has questions and he enthusiastically addresses all of their concerns about the vaccines. He says convincing this group will make the difference in whether kids will get back to normal in school with no masks. That will happen, he says, if schools follow the CDC guidelines on masks, vaccination, and social distancing. He says an 11-year-old who gets the dose for younger kids should still get that same dose even if they turn 12 between shots. He also advises parents of new five-year-old’s not to wait and to get their child vaccinated as soon as it’s available. He says now is a good time to get your child involved in their own health care, and calls this a great opportunity to make a big impact on the virus.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, is glad to see the COVID patient numbers dropping. But he worries that with more indoor activities, mask mandates ending, and a stagnant vaccination rate, we could see those numbers go back up. Flu cases are very few in the United States right now, but he says it’s still early, and there continue to be outbreaks of RSV in kids. On reports of a new variant in eight different states, he says we don’t know much but nothing so far is out-competing Delta. He stressed that kids have died and developed long haul symptoms from COVID. Not getting your child vaccinated, he says, is just rolling the dice and taking your chances.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, points out there has been a rise of COVID cases in Europe in places where there has been vaccine hesitancy. He agrees that if masks come off we could see that same effect here. He says vaccinations, especially for the younger kids, “are our opportunity to change the game. As much as we all want to ignore it, the reality is the virus is still dominating our society. Fear about the vaccine is not really based in science. It’s based on internet rumors and people who don’t like to be told what to do and so they make stuff up. At the end of the day, you’ve got to put a pause button on this making stuff up. Let’s put the Go button on trying to figure out the real truth.”
Wednesday, November 3 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Open Mics with Dr. Stites. A national movement promoting equity in the workplace honors Dr. Alexander Chiu, Chair Otolaryngology. Dr. Lisa Snyder, Otolaryngology and Dr. Jennifer Villwock, Otolaryngology explain why they nominated Dr. Chiu and how his efforts improve patient care.
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