The University of Kansas Health System marked a milestone recently with its 200,000 COVID-19 test.
A year ago the hospital was doing about 100 to 150 COVID-19 tests a day, and felt overwhelmed.
Because of demand, it began running around 1,200 tests a day, according to Dr. Rachael Liesman, director of microbiology in pathology and laboratory. They went from one machine to about a dozen. More staff was added, tripling the former numbers in the lab. The peak number was 1,400 COVID-19 tests a day in the past year, she added.
With the drop in the number of people seeking COVID-19 testing, they are now doing around 400 to 600 a day, according to Dr. Liesman.
The lab continues to run 24-7 to get results back as soon as possible, according to Dr. Liesman. There was a concern about a fourth wave, and they maintained their capacity for testing in case it happened.
There were a total of 4.2 million lab tests run at their lab during this time, including many different kinds of tests, according to Dr. Liesman.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, said people are not getting tested as often, and they are probably seeing a little less spread.
Now the positivity rate of tests is about 2 percent, Dr. Liesman said. The majority of people testing are asymptomatic screening, she said, and some are pre-procedure tests. They also are doing a lot of tests for nursing homes, and those individuals are mostly vaccinated. They have an artificially low rate based on who they are testing, she added.
There may be less community spread, or people who are sick are not coming in to get tested, Dr. Stites said.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, said he thought there was a little bit of COVID-19 weariness in people not getting tested. People may not be getting tested unless they are told to for work, he said.
Marissa Larson, supervisor of the new molecular microbiology section, said COVID-19 tests were all she had done in the past year. Now that volumes have dropped, they are thinking about how to provide more support to the community and to patients.
Dr. Liesman said in the future the lab will focus on other tests as the level of COVID-19 testing goes down.
She said some antibody tests target the spike, while others target the N protein, she said.
Antigen tests are not as sensitive as PCR tests, she said. There are rapid PCR tests but they are a little more expensive, she said. Rapid tests at pharmacies are usually antigen tests, and won’t be as sensitive, she added.
Dr. Stites said until more people are vaccinated, he is nervous about repealing mask mandates, especially indoors. If you are outdoors within 6 feet of the same person for any amount of time, a mask is advised, he said.
Dr. Hawkinson said data overwhelmingly show that masking and distancing reduce spread of COVID-19 in a community, and also reduce hospitalizations and deaths. Contact tracing and other measures also contribute, he said.
Dr. Stites said society isn’t back to normal yet. Vaccines haven’t reached the level of herd immunity. He advised people to be very careful to wear their masks in public places.
Walk-in vaccinations available Friday
Free walk-in vaccinations are available Friday, April 23, for Wyandotte County residents and workers.
Wyandotte County residents and those who work in Wyandotte County may walk in for a COVID-19 vaccination from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, April 23, at three Health Department vaccination sites. These include the former Best Buy store at 10500 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas; the former Kmart at 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas; and the Kansas National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th St., (near 18th and Ridge), Kansas City, Kansas.
The vaccination sites will have either Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.
Appointments also are being scheduled for the Unified Government Health Department vaccine sites.
The Health Department has expanded vaccine access and starting this week, all Kansas residents can make an appointment to be vaccinated at any of the Health Department’s vaccination facilities on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The vaccination sites on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are open to Kansas residents who are 16 and older who have appointments. They also are open to Wyandotte County residents who can walk in for a vaccine without an appointment.
Kansas residents who wish to schedule an appointment or any Wyandotte County resident may use the Health Department’s self-scheduling tool at WycoVaccines.org and click on a blue button that says, “Click here to schedule an appointment online.”
The page is available in Spanish by clicking at the top of the page.
Wyandotte County residents who don’t have an internet connection may call 3-1-1 or 913-573-5311 for assistance in scheduling their vaccination appointment time and date. Walk-ins also are possible for Wyandotte County residents.
People coming in for an appointment may be asked to show they live in Kansas, such as showing a driver’s license, a piece of mail addressed to them, or similar paperwork.
The Health Department also is adding late afternoon and early morning hours this week, and will have these special days for the next three or four weeks.
Early morning hours will be available at the former Best Buy vaccination site from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Later afternoon hours will be from noon to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the former Kmart location.
The Armory will continue with Saturday hours from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 24.
To see more information about Health Department vaccinations, visit WycoVaccines.org.
Other sites available for vaccinations
KU Health System offers vaccinations seven days a week at different locations. Appointments are required. Current patients may use MyChart to make an appointment. Others may call 913-588-1227 or visit kansashealthsystem.com/vaccine to see if vaccines are available.
The University of Kansas Health System also has vaccinations for Wyandotte and Johnson county residents. Any residents of Kansas can call to get an appointment whether they are patients or not at the health system.
There are also pharmacies giving COVID-19 vaccinations in Wyandotte County by appointment, when available. These include Price Chopper and Hen House pharmacy at 76th and State Avenue, and 81st and State Avenue (see https://www.ballsfoodspharmacy.com/), and Medicine Shoppe pharmacy at 65th and Parallel by appointment when available (see https://www.facebook.com/The-Medicine-Shoppe-Kansas-City-281548241870522). CVS pharmacy also has announced that it will offer COVID-19 vaccines at one of its stores in Kansas City, Kansas. Registration is at CVS.com.
Case numbers reported
The University of Kansas Health System reported COVID-19 cases are staying level. There were 10 active COVID-19 patients on Thursday morning, the same as Wednesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Of the 10 patients, six were in the intensive care unit, the same as Wednesday. Three patients were on a ventilator, the same number as Wednesday. There were another eight COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized but are out of the acute infection phase, a decrease of two from Wednesday. There is a total 18 patients, a decrease of two since Wednesday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 16 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, April 22, for a cumulative 18,343 cases, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There was a cumulative total of 289 deaths reported, no change.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 168,933 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Thursday, an increase of 73 cases. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 71. The number of cumulative deaths was 2,376.
The state of Kansas reported 306,883 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, April 21, an increase of 593 cases since Monday. There were a total cumulative 4,961 deaths reported statewide. According to KDHE, Johnson County had 57,317 cases, an increase of 181 since Monday; Leavenworth County, 7,145 cases, an increase of four; Sedgwick County (Wichita area), 55,659, an increase of 126; and Shawnee County (Topeka area), 17,275 cases, an increase of 32.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Thursday night reported 31,928,507 cumulative cases in the United States, with 570,321 total deaths reported nationwide. There were 62,857 new cases in the United States, and 842 new deaths. States with the highest number of new cases were Michigan, 5,973; Florida, 5,571; Pennsylvania, 4,537; Texas, 4,427; and New York, 4,292. Countries with the highest number of new cases were India, 314,644; Brazil, 79,719; United States, 62,857; Turkey, 61,967; and France, 34,798.
Free testing available Friday
COVID-19 testing is scheduled beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, April 23, at Lowe’s, 6920 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. The tests are through WellHealth and appointments are required to www.gogettested.com/kansas.
Unified Government Health Department COVID-19 free testing sites at the former Best Buy store, 10500 Parallel Parkway, the former Kmart building at 78th and State, and the Kansas National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th (18th and Ridge), are scheduled to be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, April 23. For more information, visit 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. Appointments are not needed.
Tests from the Health Department are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. They are saliva tests.
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.
The Health Department’s general contact page is at https://www.wycokck.org/Health/Contact.aspx. Their Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
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. There are more test sites listed on this page.
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 online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/908014510046332.
The University of Kansas Health System COVID-19 update page is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/292961702392386.
A weekly vaccine report for the state of Kansas is at
https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/123/Vaccine-Historical-Document-22521?bidId=.
Wyandotte County has a local mask and social distancing ordinance approved by the UG Commission. 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.