The University of Kansas Health System observed a grim milestone today. With three COVID deaths yesterday, the total number of deaths at the health system since the pandemic began last year is 503. 13 of those deaths have come just since last Wednesday, September 1. These deaths are primarily among the unvaccinated. The number of active COVID patients is back up today. 59 are being treated, up from 55 on Friday, and just ten of those 59 are fully vaccinated. 17 patients are in the ICU, up from 16 Friday. 11 are on ventilators, down from 12 Friday. 47 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 48 on Friday. That’s a total of 106 patients, up from 103 Friday. HaysMed has 13 patients, up from 11 on Friday.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, Dr. Karin Porter-Williamson, a palliative care specialist at The University of Kansas Health System, joined to talk about the grief and frustration that surrounds these deaths.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, noted that last Labor Day our numbers were nowhere near as high as they are this year. He worries that this fall things will be different with loosened restrictions and not enough people being vaccinated, especially with upcoming religious holidays like Rosh Hashana and huge gatherings like the Chiefs games. He says 98 percent of the patients who die are unvaccinated, and reminds us the vaccines prevent serious hospitalization and death. He points to South America, where the COVID rate is way down. He says that’s because there is no “mask fight” there and the vaccination rate is 70 percent. He feels we need to get that rate of vaccination in the U.S. and to keep up masking or we’re going to have a very tough fall in this country.
Dr. Porter-Williamson explained how palliative care is a team-based approach to providing an extra layer of support to patients and their families. She says the team has been pushed to the limit during this surge of the pandemic, more so than last year. She says it’s so frustrating to see patients, especially young, healthy people in their 20’s to 40’s, fighting for their lives in the ICU from COVID when the vaccine could have prevented it. The same is true for so many pregnant women who have either lost their baby or had to have a preterm delivery in order to try to save both of their lives. She described an especially hard situation recently when through an iPad she had to tell the family of a dying man, when they asked, that vaccines would have prevented the tragic outcome. Even then, she says, some people refuse to believe COVID is real or the vaccines will help. She also senses what she calls “compassion fatigue” among the ICU staff. Everyone is trying to protect themselves emotionally and physically so they can keep coming back to work. They are all watching out for each other, doing the best they can to heal on their days off, so they are prepared to return to care for these seriously ill patients. She also described, as the video played, the process many COVID patients undergo called proning. It involves a team of at least five turning the patient face down in order to increase their oxygen flow. She says, “Doctors like me write orders and leave the room. There are five ICU nurses who are at that bedside all day, every day. And they are so tired. I have profound respect for these bedside providers who give their souls to help everybody through this.” She adds, “I hope it doesn’t take all of us losing people we love in order to do the thing that’s most helpful, which is vaccination.”
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, reminds us the vast majority of people who are hospitalized are unvaccinated. The vaccinated patients who die have comorbidities such lung and heart disease and are immunosuppressed. He discussed the status of vaccines for kids under 12, saying they will be safe, but the FDA and CDC want more data and more patient information. He thinks we’ll know more in about a month. He also assures us that while we keep hearing about new variants, we don’t need to worry about them as only Delta is causing the current surge. He urges everyone to be kind and compassionate with those who don’t believe in masks and vaccinations. He says it may take hearing the truth from somebody they trust or, unfortunately, experiencing tragedy themselves, before they’re convinced.
Wednesday, September8 at 8:00 a.m. is Open Mics With Dr. Stites. He is joined by Dr. Gregory Poland, director of Mayo Clinic's vaccine research group, who is back to talk about vaccines and virus variants.
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