The University of Kansas Health System reports a steady number of active COVID-19 patients being treated in the hospital today. 67 people with the active virus are hospitalized, up from 66 Friday. 21 patients are in the ICU, same as Friday. 10 of those ICU patients are on ventilators today, same as Friday. 47 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 54 Friday. That’s a total of 114 patients, down from 120 Friday. In addition, HaysMed has a total of 20 COVID-19 inpatients, up from 19 Friday, with 18 of those active patients and 2 in the recovery phase.
Doctors take it as a good sign that it’s been more than three weeks since Christmas and they have not seen the huge surge of patients they were nervous about.
On today’s Morning Media Update, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas joined to talk about how vaccinations are going on the Missouri side of our state line and KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman was back to update vaccinations across Kansas.
Dr. Norman says the trend in the State of Kansas is the same as at the health system, and in fact, the number of cases per capita in the state is one of the best in the nation. He thinks they’ll know by the end of this week when the state may enter Phase 2 of the distribution plan. He says it’s been a struggle because right now the vaccine is not here in sufficient quantities, but it’s expected to ramp up soon. He adds that it’s important to get vaccinated whenever you can, regardless of where you live. Of the 31 million doses available in the United States, he says only 12.3 million have been given, or 39%. In Kansas, 60% of the vaccine has been given, but in both cases, he thinks that’s because the record keeping lags from the actual vaccinations. He pointed out that it’s not just age that decides the order of who gets the vaccine, but a person’s other underlying illnesses. He’s very disappointed in the group of nurses in Coffey County who refused to administer the vaccine because they claimed they were “not comfortable” with it. He says it’s hard to argue with the tens of thousands of people in the studies and the millions of doses given so far proving it’s safe. He also says the state is constantly looking for the virus variants, which so far have not appeared in Kansas.
Mayor Lucas said, sadly, it’s already been determined, after consulting with medical experts, that no matter how the Chiefs do in the playoffs, there will be no big parade this year because of the pandemic. But he wants to assure everyone they will find a way to celebrate. He also noted that the city is working diligently to get the vaccine to the most vulnerable population by working with community clinics and smaller healthcare facilities. He says there is a lot of education going on to stress the vaccine’s safety. He explained how to sign up on the city’s web site to be notified when it’s your turn for the vaccine, and stressed people need to keep trying if they can’t get in. He emphasized how important it is to keep wearing masks, especially in a bar or restaurant and said you should leave if it doesn’t look like the patrons or staff are wearing theirs. He’s grateful that the city has learned to work across jurisdictions during the pandemic.
Nathan Bahr, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Kansas Health System, filled in for the vacationing Dr. Hawkinson. He reviewed the possible side-effects from the vaccine, which can include a sore arm, fatigue or mild fever, but said most people will not see these effects. He said there will always be vulnerable patients and pleaded for us to continue wearing masks and keeping our distance from each other because you never know who among us is in that vulnerable category.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, says as we enter what we hope is the fourth quarter of the pandemic, we can’t fumble away our opportunity as we march toward the goal line. He says we have to keep each other safe and healthy by wearing a mask, keeping our distance and observing all of the pillars of infection prevention no matter where we are.
Wednesday, January 20 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. We check-in with Dr. Mark Steele, Executive Chief Clinical Officer, Truman Medical Centers/University Health, Dr. Raghu Adiga, CMO and infectious diseases physician, Liberty Hospital and Dr. Larry Botts, CMO, Advent Health join to update their hospital numbers and vaccinations.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
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