Month: March 2021

More reason for optimism about declining COVID-19 cases

Declining COVID-19 case numbers, loosening of some restrictions and a new vaccination clinic here were in the news on Tuesday.

Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, discussed how Kansas will handle new CDC loosening of some restrictions for those who have been vaccinated, while Wyandotte County launched a new vaccination clinic at the Kansas National Guard Armory at 100 S. 20th, (near 18th and Ridge), in Kansas City, Kansas.

The opening of the new vaccination clinic at the Armory in Kansas City, Kansas, attracted a number of officials, including the governor.

Also on Tuesday, the Unified Government Health Department announced walk-in vaccinations now would be open to residents who are 80 years old and older from all Wyandotte County Zip Codes. That is a change from the previous 85 years old.

Other vaccinations, for people 65 and up, will be available for residents in Zip Codes 66101, 66102, 66105 by appointment only at the three Health Department sites in Wyandotte County. Those interested in getting a vaccine should fill out a form at WycoVaccines.org or call 3-1-1, then press 1 for the COVID-19 hotline.

Dr. Norman, speaking at the University of Kansas Health System news conference Tuesday, commented on new CDC guidelines issued on Monday that loosened restrictions a little for small gatherings of people who have been vaccinated. Some doctors are concerned that COVID-19 case numbers could rise if gatherings take place.

If there is a plateauing and worsening, it is awfully hard to make people step back and become more restrictive, Dr. Norman said. The KDHE is taking a measured approach, he said. Dr. Norman said they didn’t want to over-liberalize the mask and distancing restrictions, and there is still a state executive order on masking that 80 counties are following. He said they want to make sure they are not too restrictive and not too liberal.

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health System was not in favor of ending the mask mandate.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health, said a lot will be based on the data, and what is changing in one or two weeks. Local health departments can make changes as numbers in their communities change, he added.

“It is so much better than it was six months ago,” Dr. Stites said about mask-wearing. “My fear as things get warmed up, people start taking their masks off, if they haven’t been vaccinated, and then we’re going to see a rise.”

While the rise in cases may not be as high as previously, it will still be bad for those individuals who haven’t been vaccinated yet, he said.

“It’s not time yet to take off all the masks and try to say we’re normal,” Dr. Stites said. “We’re not normal.”

Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance at KU Health, said doctors from Children’s Mercy said it is likely to be 2022 or even 2023 before they can vaccinate children. There’s going to be a lot of families who are unvaccinated as a family for a long time, he said.

Dr. Norman said Kansas remains in Phase 2, with about a million people in this phase. Some Kansas counties have completed Phase 2 and are on “pause,” he said, while other counties complete Phase 2.

Kansas is different from Missouri in that Kansas is mostly done with first doses for teachers and school staff, he said, and Kansas has vaccinated many meatpacking plant workers.

He said Kansas may get to Phase 3 four weeks from now, or a little less.

There have been issues with a county that wanted to move to the next phase, but they talked with the county and the county now has changed its vaccine prioritization schedule, he said.

Dr. Norman said if he was an individual looking for a vaccine, he would cast a wide net to get a vaccine, as some sites are more efficient in quickly getting vaccines to people. He recommended the kansasvaccine.gov website to find places that are offering vaccines in the area.

Retail pharmacies are getting more vaccines currently, he said, and they receive the vaccines from the federal government directly. Initially they were just vaccinating people over the age of 65, but now pharmacies also are doing child care workers, grocery, retail, high-risk, food service, long-term care and assisted living, he said.

About prioritization of those who get vaccines, Dr. Norman asked, if you move one group up, who do you move out? On one hand, they want to protect a population against spread, and high-risk for spread would include retail workers and meatpacking workers.

Eighty-five percent of deaths in Kansas have been in people 65 and older, he said. It’s an issue of how to stop spread in a population versus protecting one individual, he said.

“There’s no easy way to solve that; we just need more vaccine,” Dr. Norman said. “It’s also a question from a policy perspective, of who do you want to make unhappy?” he said.

Dr. Wild said the CDC found that existing disease had some effect on risk of disease and death, but nowhere near the effect that age has. That was why age was used to determine the priority for the vaccines.

Dr. Norman said masking, social distancing and hand washing, along with vaccinations have resulted in lower COVID-19 numbers in Kansas. There were four deaths in Kansas during the past weekend, and 100 to 150 new cases a day. That compared to many more deaths and about 2,000 new cases a day a few months ago. The state’s positivity rate is now around 2.9 percent, a decline from 16 to 18 percent.

Dr. Norman said Kansas will likely continue improving as more vaccine becomes available.

Dr. Wild said that while the United States has four percent of the world’s population, it has 20 percent of the world’s COVID-19 deaths, with about 525,000. It is a staggering number, especially for a single disease, he said.

Nationally, there have been 29.1 million COVID-19 cases of the 330 million people in the United States, he said. The United States has received 30 percent of the world’s vaccine doses.

Kansas has had 296,451 cases, 9,411 hospitalizations and 4,816 deaths in the past year, he said.

The KU Health System has had 2,252 patients admitted for COVID-19 in the past year, with 331 deaths, and the average age of patients was 58, he said. Also, the KU Health System has administered 35,000 doses of the vaccine, he said.

COVID-19 case numbers reported

COVID-19 patients decreased again on Tuesday at KU Health System. The health system reported 11 active COVID-19 patients, a decrease of three from Monday, according to Dr. Hawkinson. Two of the patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of one since Monday, and the two ICU patients were on ventilators Tuesday, the same number as Monday. There were another 23 COVID-19 patients in the hospital who were out of the acute infection phase, the same number as Monday. In all, there were 34 COVID-19 patients at KU Health System, a decrease of three since Monday.

Wyandotte County reported an increase of 3 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, March 9, since Monday, March 8, for a cumulative 17,773 cases. There was a cumulative total of 273 deaths reported, no change since Monday.

The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 161,480 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 79. Cumulative deaths in the nine-county area were 2,268.

The state of Kansas reported 296,451 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Monday, March 8, an increase of 590 cases since Friday. There were a total cumulative 4,816 deaths, an increase of four since Friday

The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday night reported 29,093,946 cases in the United States, with 527,643 total deaths nationwide.

COVID-19 tests scheduled Wednesday

Free COVID-19 tests are available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Faith Deliverance Family Worship Center, 3043 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

Appointments are not needed for the test at Faith Deliverance, and anyone can be tested, regardless of symptoms or exposure to COVID-19. For more information, or to see if there is any change to the schedule, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.

The Pierson Community Center COVID-19 testing site at 831 S. 55th is open at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 10. Tests are through WellHealth. Appointments are required, check with the website, www.gogettested.com/Kansas, for available appointment times.

Another COVID-19 testing site will be at Lowe’s, 6920 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, at 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 10. Tests are through WellHealth. Appointments are required, check with the website, www.gogettested.com/Kansas, for available appointment times. Another site on www.gogettested.com/Kansas is the Vibrant Health clinic at the former Bethany medical building at 21 S. 12th St.

Unified Government COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites are scheduled to be open on Wednesday, March 10. The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 10. Appointments are not needed for COVID-19 tests there on Wednesday. There are also UG Health Department locations for COVID-19 testing at the former Best Buy store, 10500 Parallel Parkway, and at the National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th, (near 18th and Ridge), Kansas City, Kansas. More information is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19. To see if there is any change to the schedule, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.

The Health Department is offering saliva COVID-19 tests to the public. Tests from the Health Department are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County.

The tests are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule. Bring something that shows that you live or work in Wyandotte County, such as a utility bill.

Walk-in vaccines available for those 80 and older

The UG Health Department is offering COVID-19 vaccines Monday through Friday for Wyandotte County residents who are over 65.

Those Wyandotte County residents who are 80 or older can walk in and do not need an appointment Monday through Friday at the vaccination sites at 7836 State Ave., 10500 Parallel Parkway and 100 S. 20th. The sites are open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Those who are 65 and older, as well as critical workers, still need appointments for vaccines.

All those 65 and older should bring an ID or other proof of age, such as a driver’s license, government ID or birth certificate, as well as something showing their Wyandotte County address, such as an ID or a piece of mail.

For more vaccine information, and to fill out a form expressing interest in getting a vaccine, visit WycoVaccines.org or call 3-1-1.

Testing sites are at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.

Saliva testing is now offered at the UG Health Department. For more information, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/02042021-ugphd-saliva-testing-available.pdf.

The KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/1086596078483509.

The University of Kansas Health System COVID-19 update page is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/265130208445513.

A weekly vaccine report for the state of Kansas is at
https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/123/Vaccine-Historical-Document-22521?bidId=.

Cards and letters of encouragement for caregivers at KU Health System may be sent to Share Joy, care of Patient Relations, 4000 Cambridge St., Mailstop 1021, Kansas City, Kansas, 66160. Emails can be sent to [email protected].

Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask and social distancing order.

The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.

The KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.

The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.

The Wyandotte County page on the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 website is at https://bao.arcgis.com/covid-19/jhu/county/20209.html.

The Johns Hopkins Data in Motion, a presentation on critical COVID-19 data in the past 24 hours, is at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/covid-19-daily-video.

KCK school board modifies school re-entry plan in case legislators mandate reopening date

The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education unanimously passed a school re-entry amendment on Tuesday night, March 9.

The amendment says the district, which had already passed its school re-entry plan last month, will offer a five-day-a-week in-person option beginning on March 26 if the Kansas Legislature passes Senate Bill 235.

State legislators have the local school board jumping through hoops as the district tries to anticipate what’s coming down next from Topeka and how it will affect the school reopening plan. School district officials said a remote learning option would still be available.

Last month, the board approved a four-day-a-week in-person re-entry plan with Wednesdays off for cleaning, with a remote option also available to parents. That plan would have taken effect April 5.

Dr. Stacy Yeager, a board member, said that she wanted to approve the school district’s recommendation on the five-day-a-week plan in order to give parents more time. As a parent, she said it was important to have as much advance notice as possible. Parents often have to have time to make child care arrangements.

Dr. Valdenia Winn, a school board member who also is a state legislator from the 34th District, said the bill has not passed at this time, and there was always a chance that it would be amended in the Legislature before it passes, if it does pass, or when it goes to conference committee.

Dr. Winn said the intent of the Senate bill was to bring all the students back to school in person, and to punish those districts that remain in remote learning, reducing their funding.

“The reality is, the Legislature is mad at COVID federal dollars that will come. They’re mad that KCK and Wichita have been remote. They’re just mad,” Dr. Winn said during the meeting.

If Senate Bill 235 doesn’t pass the Legislature, then the district would go back to its other plan of four days a week in person, with Wednesday off for cleaning, and also with the remote option still possible, according to district officials.

Board member Wanda Brownlee Paige, a former teacher, remarked that she would say what no one else wanted to say.

What the Legislature has done is taken away the power from the local school board, and they’ve done that to all the districts in the state, she said.

“They’re deciding what’s best for us,” Paige said. “What might work in western Kansas might not work in northeast Kansas, and that’s part of the problem.”

Paige urged everyone to write letters or messages to legislators expressing their views.

Parents are choosing whether students return in person or opt for remote learning. Lisa Garcia-Stewart, district director of student services, reported that by March 8, about 15,395 students had chosen in-person school, while 6,620 students opted for remote learning. They are still enrolling students, she added.

Now that there has been an amendment to the school re-entry plan, parents will be able to call the school district and change their students’ re-entry plan, to either in-person or remote, according to Matthew Andersen, interim assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.

Dr. Alicia Miguel, interim superintendent, said their thinking was that if Senate Bill 235 passed, it clearly stated that they need to offer an option. Now that parents know it might be five days a week, some parents may change their mind, she said.

That leaves only three days this week for parents to call the school district and let them know if they want to change to either in-person or remote learning, before spring break starts, according to Garcia-Stewart. Spring break is March 15 to March 19.

After that, parents will have Monday, March 22, to tell the district about any change in their children’s re-entry plans, according to Garcia-Stewart.

There will still be a certain level of uncertainty, however, as parents will not know right away if Senate Bill 235 will pass.

A group of students has already returned to the district’s school buildings, including those who may have had challenges connecting to their classrooms on the internet.

In other action, the Kansas City, Kansas, school board voted unanimously to lower the credits required for graduation for high school seniors this year.

The district had required 25 credits, while the state of Kansas had required only 21 credits. Seniors this year only will be allowed to graduate with the 21 credits required by the state, according to district officials.

Dr. Troy Pitsch, instructional improvement officer, recommended the change.

He said the district is seeing 10 times the number of hardship applications it usually sees for graduation. They’re seeing more than 200 applications, when usually the number is around 25, he said.

The new graduation requirements will drop one unit of math, from 4 required now to 3; a half unit of English, from 4.5 to 4 units; and two units of career and technical education to no units required, according to district officials. Electives will drop a half unit, from 6.5 to 6 units of electives.

There will be no change for science, social studies, physical education and fine arts requirements.