Hospitals and other sites are in the first phase for the vaccination rollout, currently vaccinating health care workers.
The University of Kansas Health System had been doing about 600 vaccinations a day for health care workers, according to Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance improvement. On Thursday, the health system did 1,991 vaccinations in a mass vaccination clinic, he said during a media update on Friday morning.
Currently, they are also vaccinating non-medical workers at the health system. They are continuing to build their capacity, Dr. Wild said.
“There’s a ton of work and a lot of logistics that goes into that,” he said. They will use those things as they prepare to serve other groups in other phase rollouts for the vaccinations, he said.
In 1951, the general population came through a mass diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccination clinic in their cars. The doctors answered a question on whether that would be possible with the COVID-19 vaccination.
“There are a couple of things that complicate that here,” Dr. Wild said.
First is that, based on current emergency use authorization, there is a 15-minute observation period following the vaccination, he said. That can be done in a vehicle, but a parking lot big enough is needed to manage the vehicles, he said. They also need enough health care providers to monitor the observation, and the weather needs to be under control, he said.
“Will we get to that point, is it possible? I think so,” Dr. Wild said. Several months after starting the vaccinations, the 15-minute observation period may not be needed, he added.
The second barrier is the logistics of handling the vaccines, the dilution and the cold storage requirements, he said. As they get more of the vaccines, including AstraZeneca, which doesn’t require extremely cold storage, those things won’t be that hard, he added.
A lot of it will be new, said Lance Williamson, infection prevention and control supervisor. It’s one thing to vaccinate health care workers already here, but vaccinating the general population would be in a scope that they haven’t seen before, he added.
“We have done drive-through influenza vaccinations here at the health center, and the university, so it’s not unheard of,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. But the limiting factors are cold storage and the fact they have to monitor people for 15 minutes, he added.
“We would like to, that’s more access for more people, but right now there’s those limiting factors,” he said.
Dr. Wild said there is no recommendation or plan to give the dose of COVID-19 vaccine again at 90 days. The vaccine is supposed to have 95 percent efficacy after a person receives the first dose and then the booster around three to four weeks later. They do not anticipate needing a third one after 90 days. The doctors think it is possible people will need a booster shot in a year, but there is no official recommendation yet.
Also, the vaccine should be effective against a new variant of COVID-19, according to the doctors. One study showed people would still have enough antibodies to fight the variant.
Case numbers reported
There were 71 active COVID-19 patients on Friday morning at the University of Kansas Health System, a decrease of four since Thursday, according to Dr. Hawkinson. Twenty-three were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of three since Thursday. Fifteen were on ventilators, an increase of four since Thursday. Another 70 patients were in the hospital, out of the acute infection phase, an increase of four from Thursday. There were a total of 141 COVID-19 patients, the same as Thursday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 129 COVID-19 cases on Friday, Jan. 8, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 15,417 cases. There were two additional deaths reported Friday, for a cumulative total of 204.
The Mid-America Regional Council Kansas City Region COVID-19 hub on Friday reported 131,543 total cumulative cases, with, 1,592 total cumulative deaths in the nine-county Kansas City region. The average number of new hospitalizations was 170.
The state of Kansas reported 242,322 cumulative cases on Friday, an increase of 5,504 cases since Wednesday, according to Kansas Department of Health and Environment statistics. There was an increase of 121 deaths statewide since Wednesday, for a total cumulative 3,148 deaths.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Friday reported 21,862,986 total cumulative cases in the United States, with 368,777 total deaths nationwide.
Free COVID-19 testing available Saturday
COVID-19 tests will be available from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pierson Community Center parking lot, 1800 S. 55th St., Kansas City, Kansas. Hours are subject to change depending on the weather and other factors. These tests are through WellHealth Management. For more information and to schedule a test, visit www.GoGetTested.com/Kansas.
The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open on Monday, Jan. 11, 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.
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 Health System media update is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/742615223036730.
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.