Month: September 2021

Student deaths from COVID preventable, doctor says

A recent death of a Kansas middle school student from COVID-19 was discussed briefly on Thursday at the morning medical update of the University of Kansas Health System.

Some general information about the death, but not the name of the school, the city or the individual student, was released on Wednesday during a state panel discussion on school safety.

“It’s a tragedy,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System.

“We know and understand that vaccines are extremely efficacious and have a significant amount of safety as well,” he said. “We know that these things are preventable, whether 12 and above or 55 and above.”

Masking in schools is vital for keeping students safe, he said. A vaccine for those under 12 could be approved next month.

Dr. Hawkinson said only 10 to 15 percent of people who get the virus will need to seek medical treatment and explained how to tell when it’s time to do so. He advised getting tested if you even suspect you have COVID.

He said no vaccine is 100 percent effective at stopping disease, but the COVID vaccines are effective enough to keep you from getting seriously ill, going to the hospital, and dying.

Currently, booster shots are recommended for those who are immunocompromised, he said.

The CDC on Thursday recommended that those who are 65 and older or at high risk could get a Pfizer booster shot. State and local guidance on the process will be coming out later.

Dr. Hawkinson asked everyone to seek out sources of truth, not just active misinformation campaigns, which he said were “completely false, uninformed opinions not informed by the science, by the reality of the situation.”

Vaccines, tests available

The former Kmart building at 7836 State Ave., a Unified Government Health Department vaccination site, will be open for testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and for free COVID-19 vaccinations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Walk-ins are accepted. There are incentives being offered for Wyandotte County residents, while supplies last. See WycoVaccines.org.

COVID-19 testing from WellHealth will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th. Appointments are necessary. The site is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To make an appointment, including a same-day appointment, visit https://www.gogettested.com/kansas.

COVID-19 vaccines and testing are available from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at the Vibrant Health Argentine 1428 S. 32nd St., Kansas City, Kansas. Testing and vaccinations are available. No appointment is necessary.

Mobile vaccines can be requested online at WycoVaccines.org or by calling 3-1-1 (913-573-5311). For more information on the Unified Government Health Department’s vaccine schedule, see WycoVaccines.org.

COVID-19 vaccines and tests are available at other locations in Wyandotte County, including some pharmacies. For locations and availability, visit www.vaccines.gov.

Free vaccinations at KU Health System are open to the public, and appointments are required. Current patients may use MyChart to make an appointment. Others may call 913-588-1227 or visit kansashealthsystem.com/vaccine to make an appointment to get vaccinated. KU Health System currently is vaccinating residents of Kansas and Missouri who are 12 or older, by appointment only. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian throughout the appointment.

Case numbers reported

The University of Kansas Health System reported 72 total COVID-19 patients on Thursday, Sept. 23, no change from Wednesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Thirty-five patients with the active virus were inpatients on Thursday, a decrease of five from Wednesday. Thirteen patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of one since Wednesday. Nine patients were on ventilators, no change from Wednesday. Thirty-seven other patients were still hospitalized from COVID, but were out of the acute infection phase, an increase of two from Wednesday.

Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 23,723 cases on Thursday, Sept. 23, an increase of 33 cases since Wednesday, Sept. 22, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative total of 361 deaths on Thursday, an increase of one since Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Sept. 22, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 48.34 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled about 41.46 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 59.5 percent.

The Mid-America Regional Council reported 212,770 cases on Thursday in Greater Kansas City, a nine-county area. There were a total of 2,888 deaths. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 116.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 401,931 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Wednesday, Sept. 22, an increase of 2,562 since Monday, Sept. 20. There was a total of 5,919 cumulative deaths reported statewide, an increase of three since Sept. 20.
The KDHE reported 73,869 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on Sept. 22, an increase of 298 since Sept. 20. Leavenworth County had 9,805 cases on Sept. 22, an increase of 34 since Sept. 20. Sedgwick County (the Wichita area) reported 74,513 cases on Sept. 22, an increase of 601 since Sept. 20.
On Wednesday, the KHDE reported 11,320 cumulative cases in Douglas County (the Lawrence area), an increase of 52 since Sept. 20. Riley County (the Manhattan area) had 7,490 cumulative cases, an increase of 33 since Sept. 20. Shawnee County (the Topeka area) had 24,082 cumulative cases, an increase of 123 cases since Sept. 20.

On Thursday night, there were a cumulative 42,672,291 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with a cumulative 684,357 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Links


To see a video from the KU doctors’ morning medical update, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/920263922180350.

Visit gogettested.com/Kansas and https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19 for more testing sites.


Wyandotte County residents may contact the Health Department at wycohelp.org to sign up for a test to be delivered to their home.
For more details about free COVID-19 testing offered by the UG Health Department, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept or call 3-1-1.

To view details about the extension of the mask order in KCK until Nov. 18, visit
https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/ug_extendsmaskmandate_nr_09102021.pdf.

Public open house today on Armourdale master plan

A new Armourdale area master plan, in draft form, is available. There is a public open house from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. today on the master plan at Armourdale Community Center, 730 Osage Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

Fifty years after the devastating 1951 flood, a new Armourdale master plan will try to improve the neighborhoods next to the Kansas River on the southeast side of Kansas City, Kansas.

A public open house on the draft Armourdale master plan will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. today, Sept. 23.

The open house will be held at the Armourdale Community Center, 730 Osage Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

The public may attend and offer comments on the draft area master plan.

The master plan also is online at https://www.armourdalestrong.com/master-plan-documents, and the public may comment at this website.

The Unified Government planning department staff has been meeting with groups and individuals in the Armourdale area during the past nine months to receive comments for the master plan. A steering committee has been working on the project.

The master plan was released this week, and will be a guide to future investment in the Armourdale community, according to UG officials. It is the first Armourdale master plan since 1979.

The Armourdale master plan was presented to the UG Neighborhood and Community Development Committee on Monday, Sept. 13, and also to the City Planning Commission on Sept. 13. Another presentation is scheduled to be given to the UG Commission Sept. 30.

According to UG officials, the 300-page master plan will go before the UG Commission at a later date, probably October, for final approval.

They would like to turn a cycle of decline into a cycle of prosperity, Gunnar Hand, UG planning director, told the NCD Committee on Sept. 13.

“The plan builds upon the work underway by the Unified Government to reimagine the Kansas River,” Hand stated in a news release. “Connecting this neighborhood to these investments will ensure this work benefits existing and future Armourdale residents and small business owners.”

“After a century of ambiguity,” Hand said in the statement, “this plan ensures that the existing residential community is sustainable and vibrant for the next generation.”

Andrew Moddrell, project consultant from Port Design, said at the Sept. 13 UG Committee meeting that the project now is moving into the final master plan phase.

Armourdale traces its history back to meatpacking plants and the stockyards. The entire Armourdale area is in a flood plain, and was devastated in the floods of 1903, 1908 and 1951, Moddrell said.

Some of the area’s past history included redlining, segregation and displacement that prevented development, according to Moddrell.

In the 1960s, everything in Armourdale east of 7th Street was cleared out after the flood, he said. New industrial development displaced about a third of the neighborhood.

Today, the Armourdale neighborhood core is surrounded by rivers, highways, and rail yards, he said. There are high productive industrial developments and low use, low land values, he said. Residential areas are surrounded by industrial uses.

The master plan found neglect of certain services such as lighting and sidewalks. Aging homes are about 50 percent renter-occupied and the Armourdale area has not seen new housing investment in a long time, he said.

The population of Armourdale has declined since the 1951 flood to where it is now about 2,500 residents, Moddrell said.

The master plan found that Armourdale is in many ways an isolated area, according to Moddrell. Health care is lacking. It has no grocery stores, but it does have a number of churches, grade schools, Cross-Lines and a county park. It lacks cultural amenities such as museums.

In some ways the master plan tries to strengthen the Armourdale community with community-led priorities such as access to fresh food and public spaces, according to officials.

Moddrell said at the Sept. 13 meeting that they would like to disrupt the cycle of disinvestment and isolation with a safe, empowered, included and accessible plan.

Reinvestment in the levee area in Armourdale, on the Kansas River, will mean better river access in the area, with potential for more development. There could be corridor enhancements linking to the Rock Island Bridge project area and other developments planned for the area, according to officials.

The master plan also looks at issues such as stormwater retention, bike lanes and trees.

Armourdale residents became part of the master plan consultant team, and workshops and surveys were conducted, Moddrell said. Some team members went door-to-door to talk to residents about the plan.

The levee projects and reinvestment in the river and perimeter of Armourdale, along with stormwater improvements, are expected to make a difference.

Five focus areas of the master plan included the neighborhood core; the corridors; the industrial ring; the Kansas River (or green machine); and the West Bottoms, Moddrell said.

Within each area are recommended actions. For the neighborhood core, for example, one strategy will be to support infill housing. Almost a dozen actions are recommended in the neighborhood core area.

The industrial recommendations are to try to phase out some lower uses, such as tire piles or pallet piles, he said. Also, the plan discusses how new development can be shaped to maintain pedestrian streets, add best practices, and improve stormwater retention to raise the overall value.

The plan also includes some ideas to connect corridor enhancements to the Kansas River, including through the Rock Island Bridge, walking trails and other features.

Commissioner Brian McKiernan remarked at the Sept. 13 committee meeting that it was a great road map, but the question was, can they follow the road map?

A video of the NCD Committee meeting is online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A4snbyOwgA.

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Kansas gas utility won’t release invoices detailing winter prices, but some data is already available

Utilities purchased a combined $1 billion in excess natural gas charges during storm

by Allison Kite, Kansas Reflector

Kansas’ largest natural gas utility has resisted releasing records about what suppliers charged it during the historic cold snap in February that saw prices rise by more than 200 times. But according to a new filing, it has already disclosed much of that information.

In February, when temperatures in Kansas City plunged below 15 degrees for 10 days, natural gas prices went from a few dollars per MMBtu to $300 and $600 on some days. Kansas regulators are reviewing utilities’ plans to pass $1 billion in excess natural gas costs onto ratepayers, stretched over years.

Some large-scale customers have balked at the plans, pushing for more information about what suppliers charged Kansas utilities, particularly Kansas Gas Service, such high prices. But KGS has resisted those calls, saying its supplier invoices are confidential information.

But in a filing more than a month ago, KGS disclosed its suppliers and how much it paid each of them during the storm. A key piece of information missing is how much it paid per MMBtu, which would allow for comparison between companies.

“It seems to us to not be reasonable to say … 90% of what’s in the invoice is public, but 10% is not. That doesn’t seem to make logical sense to us,” said Jim Zakoura, an attorney representing the Natural Gas Transportation Customer Coalition, a group of large-scale business customers.

Zakoura filed with the Kansas Corporation Commission Wednesday asking commissioners to reconsider their earlier decision to deny his petition to release KGS’ invoices.

“It highlights the fact that in five days the market was so dysfunctional, in our opinion, that it caused a run-up of $1 billion,” Zakoura said.

Dawn Tripp, a spokeswoman for KGS, said documents the utility has filed with KCC are fully accessible to the agency’s staff, the attorney general’s office, Zakoura’s client and other consumer and business groups.

“Specific information about the pricing structure of the agreements we have with our natural gas suppliers and the prices paid are confidential,” she said.

Tripp said KGS has disputed charges with one supplier, Southwest Energy, reducing the cost of gas by $5.6 million. Another dispute, with MacQuarie Energy, is worth nearly $15 million and pending.

KGS is requesting to pass on more than $451 million in natural gas costs and carrying fees, the largest total of the Kansas utilities, and recover it from ratepayers over five, seven or 10 years. The change would increase the average customer’s bill anywhere from about $4 to $11 per month.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/09/23/ks-gas-utility-wont-release-invoices-detailing-winter-storm-prices-but-some-data-is-already-available/.