After days of steady declines, a slight increase today in the number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System. Eight people with the active virus are being treated, up from 5 yesterday. Of those patients, three are in the ICU, up from one yesterday. Two of those ICU patients are on ventilators today, up from one yesterday. 19 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 18 yesterday. That’s a total of 27 patients, up from 23 yesterday. In addition, HaysMed has a total of 3 COVID-19 inpatients, down from seven yesterday, with one of those active patients and two in the recovery phase. Doctors say it’s natural to see variations in numbers like this and are grateful the overall trend is down.

            On today’s Morning Media Update, Lance Williamson, Infection Prevention and Control Nurse Supervisor at The University of Kansas Health System joined Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control and David Wild, VP of performance improvement, sitting in for Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steve Stites, to answer media and community questions.  

Before answering questions, Dr. Wild explained that Johnson County is getting more vaccines next week and the health department has asked the health system to help distribute the increased number of shots to more people in phase 2. It includes categories such as grocery store workers, food processing workers, meat processing plants, restaurant and bar employees, warehouses, manufacturing plants, bus and transportation workers, including Uber and taxi drivers to name a few. The health department plans to publish a full list on its website soon. Established health system patients will be contacted through MyChart while those who are not patients can register at https://covidvaccine.kansashealthsystem.com. These vaccinations are for those who live or work in Johnson County.

Here are the media and community questions in the order the panel addressed them, followed by the short answer. See the video for their full answers and comments. Time code for the question is in parentheses.

• (2:35) What does it mean for healthcare workers who are coming up on three months since being vaccinated if scientists don’t know whether immunity lasts more than three months? Immunity is defined as two weeks after your last dose. Studies are still underway with no specific time frame specified, but the hope is the immunity will last six months to a year.
• (13:50) Can you comment on reports that 600 vaccines went to waste in Lawrence? Not sure of all the details, but the health system has taken many precautions to ensure none of the vaccine is wasted.
• (15:45) Is it safe to get a massage if the therapist and I are both fully vaccinated? Based on new CDC guidelines, that would be safe.
• (16:25) My 13-year-old daughter is still having neurological issues three months after having COVID-19. Are you seeing this often? We still don’t know fully all the ways the virus affects us in the long term. It’s important to be evaluated by the primary care doctor, and if necessary, a specialist, for all lingering effects.
• (20:45) You keep using the term “sequelae.” What is that? It’s the medical term for the aftereffects of a disease, condition or injury.
• (21:40) Is herd immunity like a light switch that turns on suddenly?  Or, is it more of a dimmer? When will we know we have it? It’s more like a dimmer. It will happen gradually when 70-85% of the population is immunized. It’s important to have that happen as soon as possible to keep the virus variants from spreading out of control. We’ll know we’ve achieved it when we see declines in new cases with the same level of testing.
• (24:30) With Easter around the corner, is it safer to go to church now than last Easter?  What about an Easter Party? What are you recommending? Most churches have been operating safely for the last year with attendance limits, social distancing, and masking. Easter parties are still not recommended.
• (28:45) Can you speak about the 30-year-old mom who died just days after her 2nd shot?  Sounds like it was liver failure. Could an immune response cause liver failure? No sure of the specifics of this particular case, but in general, the vaccine has not been responsible for any deaths.
• (31:55) How can you convince a person that the vaccine is safe and effective?  Someone I know believes that because it was produced in such a short period of time, it can't be that effective or safe. Be kind and curious about their concerns. No lectures, but try to get to the root of their beliefs. Point out that the quick development and approval is what happens when the whole world tackles a problem together and reassure them there was no skimping on safety.
• (37:30) Have you seen any data on those with immunosuppressed autoimmune conditions having negative reactions to the vaccine? No safety concerns for these people.
• (38:10) I am a high school teacher and single mom to a toddler with a genetic disorder that makes COVID-19 a high risk of death for him. I've received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. My only options are FMLA with no pay or return to school. Can I still bring COVID-19 back home to him if I return to teaching? The data shows you can function safely in school.
• (39:40) Does The University of Kansas Health System include the antidepressant Fluvoxamine in its COVID-19 treatment options as reported on 60 Minutes? No, there’s no evidence it has any benefit.
• (41:25) What lessons from last year's spring break should we have learned during this pandemic and remember? The panel feels better that this year we’re mostly on the same page when it comes to the pillars of infection prevention. Non-essential travel is still not recommended.
• (45:30) It feels like there is a race between virus variants and vaccinations. Is there enough protection from the vaccines that we can celebrate spring gatherings safely? What has to happen to no longer be considered a pandemic? There is no crystal ball on when the pandemic will be officially over. It depends on how well we contain the variants and how soon the world population is vaccinated.
• (51:30) Do you think we will always be wearing masks in some places like airports? Where else might masking still make sense post-pandemic? Masking may always be with us but will likely be situational.

            Monday, March 15 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. Ed O'Malley with Kansas Leadership Center is back to update the #KSbeatsthe virus campaign.  The goal was 1,000 community meetings before the end of last year to educate and lead on beating the virus. We look forward to the findings and a special guest that Ed will be bringing with him. 

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.