by Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector
Topeka — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Friday reported 134 more people have died from COVID-19, the highest two-day total since safe, effective and free vaccines became widely available last spring.
The rapidly growing toll of the pandemic now stands at 7,522 dead Kansans.
Hospital leaders for weeks have pleaded with Kansans to get vaccinated and take basic safety precautions seriously to limit the damage caused by omicron, a highly contagious variant of the deadly virus. Infections and hospitalizations have skyrocketed to unprecedented heights, signaling an inevitable rise in deaths that follows a surge in COVID-19 case.
Over the past week, an average of 29 Kansans per day have died from COVID-19. The deaths reported since Wednesday represent the most reported in a two-day span since Feb. 5, 2021, and the sixth-highest total ever.
Angela Myers, director of infectious diseases at Children’s Mercy Hospital, said during a news briefing by the University of Kansas Health System that more children are getting sick now than ever before.
KDHE figures show between 46-145 children statewide have been hospitalized for COVID-19 every day for the past three weeks.
“I think we’re on the edge of the downhill slope for this, and I want people to just hold on a little bit longer and continue to do your good protection control practices, continue to get your questions answered if you’re not yet vaccinated or you have a child who is not yet vaccinated,” Myers said. “Please seek out your doctor’s advice. We are here to help you. We are here to answer those questions.”
In Kansas, 70% of adults and 62.9% of residents who are 5 or older are fully vaccinated, compared to 74% percent of adults and 67.6% of eligible residents nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
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