Doctors at the University of Kansas Health System video news conference discussed allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday morning.
According to Dr. Marissa Love, allergy specialist, for the most part, severe allergic reactions to the vaccine are pretty rare. About one in a million people have a severe allergic reaction to it.
Anyone who has a severe allergic reaction to the first dose of the vaccine should be evaluated, ideally by an allergist, before getting the second dose, she said.
COVID-19 patients who have already recovered should still take the vaccine, according to Dr. Love. Some develop a natural immunity after getting COVID-19, she added.
“However, we don’t know how long that lasts,” she said. The vaccine itself has been shown to produce very strong immunity, and that is a better protection for the patient, she said.
Dr. Love encouraged patients who are on immuno-suppressant drugs to have a conversation with their specialist about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. They may need a different schedule based on which medications they take, she said.
For most people, the risk of getting COVID-19 is much worse than the potential effect of getting the vaccine, Dr. Love said.
Anyone with questions should ask their doctor about getting the vaccine, and if needed, they can be referred to an allergist.
Not every reaction to a vaccine is an allergic reaction, according to the doctors.
Many of the side effects are nonallergic reactions, Dr. Love said.
Dr. Love said initially they thought patients with asthma may have increased risk. Now, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, additional data doesn’t show an increased risk for severe disease or complications among asthma patients. Other conditions may cause more severe illness.
Those who are already taking allergy shots should wait 24 hours before getting their COVID-19 vaccine, Dr. Love said.
Dr. Hawkinson said those who get the COVID-19 vaccine are protected from getting severe disease, but not from becoming infected. Those who get the vaccine can still spread the coronavirus although they have been vaccinated, according to Dr. Hawkinson.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health System, said about 30 percent of the workers at the hospital are declining the vaccine, which is about the same as other hospitals in the region. The workers offer different reasons for declining.
There are reports that some areas of Kansas only had a 50 percent vaccination rate for the health care workers; however, that could be caused by slow data reporting, he said. The public awareness campaign is necessary to get the message of safety across, according to the doctors.
According to Dr. Stites, vaccines save lives, and making the choice not to get it can affect everyone, especially those around you.
Flags to fly at half-staff Thursday for those who lost lives to COVID-19
Flags in Kansas will fly at half-staff on Thursday, Jan. 7, to honor Kansans who have lost their lives to COVID-19, according to Gov. Laura Kelly.
Kansas has passed the 3,000 mark for COVID-19 related deaths.
“It is with great sadness that I am once again ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the Kansans who have lost their lives to COVID-19,” Gov. Kelly said in a news release. “My administration remains committed to fighting further spread of COVID-19, and I know Kansans will do their part to protect their neighbors and loved ones.”
Case numbers reported
KU Health System reported that the number of active COVID-19 patients on Wednesday morning was stable. There were 69 COVID-19 active patients in the hospital, a decrease of one from Tuesday, with 25 in the intensive care unit, a decrease of four from Tuesday, and 13 on ventilators, a decrease of one from Tuesday, according to Dr. Hawkinson.
There were an additional 65 COVID-19 patients in the hospital in the recovery phase, an increase from 56 on Tuesday, he said. A total of 134 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, an increase from 126 on Tuesday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 128 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, Jan. 6, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 15,127 cases. There were no additional deaths reported Wednesday, for a cumulative total of 201.
The Mid-America Regional Council Kansas City Region COVID-19 hub on Wednesday reported 128,444 total cumulative cases, with, 1,543 total cumulative deaths in the nine-county Kansas City region. The average number of new hospitalizations was 162.
The state of Kansas had 236,818 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, an increase of 5,501 since Monday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were 130 additional deaths since Monday, with a cumulative 3,027.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday reported 21,305,028 total cumulative cases in the United States, with 361,279 total deaths statewide .
Free COVID-19 testing available Thursday
The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open on Thursday, Jan. 7, with testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tests are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. The tests are nasopharyngeal swab tests. The Health Department no longer uses saliva tests.
The tests now 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.
Free COVID-19 testing also is available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at Quindaro Community Center, 2726 Brown Ave, Kansas City, Kansas. Testing is provided by Swope Health.
More COVID-19 tests will be available Thursday at the Pierson Community Center, 1800 S. 55th St., Kansas City, Kansas. These tests are through WellHealth Management. For more information and to schedule a test, visit www.GoGetTested.com/Kansas.
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.
For more information about the testing site at the former Kmart location, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/10092020_newtestingsitewyco.pdf.
The KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/2841544342726037.
To see information about the UG giving vaccines to health care workers, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-to-start-giving-covid-19-vaccines-to-health-department-and-ems-personnel-next-week/.
The KDHE vaccine report is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1708/COVID-19-Vaccine-Updates–123020-FINAL-PDF?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. Also, the Wyandotte County health order with a limit of 10 persons to a gathering, and a closing time of 10 p.m. for restaurants and bars, with other new restrictions, is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/11162020localhealthorderexecuted.pdf.
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.