About 1.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given to Kansas residents, according to Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health.
Dr. Norman on Tuesday morning said that Kansas became the eighth state to open the vaccines to everyone 16 or older, regardless of age, medical conditions or essential work status. He spoke at the University of Kansas Health System news conference.
The move into Phase 5 reflected the fact that Kansas was effective in getting vaccine coming into the state, he said. The state’s health departments also had open appointments in many counties and cities, and the way to take care of them was to go into Phase 5, he said. It was a little earlier than they had thought it would be, but Kansas is ahead of schedule especially when considering that it has vaccinated teachers and many high-risk populations, he said.
Dr. Norman said Kansas has taken a different approach than some states. Some have not taken all the vaccine they can because they don’t want to any left over, he said. Kansas has received all the vaccine it can, and if there is a little remaining, it gives them flexibility, he said.
About 43 out of every 100 Kansans now have received a COVID-19 vaccine, he said.
Kansas currently is OK in that trend lines for cases and deaths are going down, he said, but the number of hospitalizations is not decreasing currently, but is leveling off.
While some people have expressed concern about a shortage of vaccine if anyone can get the shot, Dr. Norman said he was not that concerned, and he think the state will be fine.
In some areas, some people who have had a hard time getting in because of mobility or other reasons, there will still be problems but not because others have taken their spots, he said. What that means is they need to double down on the challenges that already existed among the hard-to-reach population, minority groups and those having trouble finding transportation, he said.
The state had more than 158,000 doses delivered into Kansas this week, with 16,500 Johnson and Johnson, he said. President Biden is now talking about increasing the number of pharmacies that get direct allocations from the federal government, he said.
He recommended the www.vaccinefinder.org website, run through CDC. The CDC has the ability to match up allocation of doses to places that have it in stock, he said. If people enter a Zip Code on that webpage, it tells them where pharmacies are that have the vaccine in stock, he added.
The doctors also discussed vaccine hesitancy. Dr. Norman said there has been some vaccine hesitancy in Kansas, including among some who will not take the Johnson and Johnson vaccine for religious reasons.
“It takes an incredible amount of customizing,” Dr. Norman said.
They try to find a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for that particular population, he said.
Some minority populations are vaccine hesitant, and the KDHE has community leaders and primary care physicians from those communities working to get the message out. People tend to believe others that they know have similar life experiences, he said. The Kansas Leadership Center is doing hundreds of forums involving community leaders, he said.
One approach does not fit all, he said, and they have marketing campaigns for different groups, in different languages.
“The approach has been good, the uptake has been a little slower than what I thought it would,” he said. He added he hoped that success would garner more success.
Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance improvement at KU Health System, said the Health System has been working with its experts on campus to connect with Wyandotte County to address vaccine hesitancy. Wyandotte County recently reported 14.8 percent of its residents had received at least one dose of vaccine.
The question of a university mandating vaccines for its students is under discussion in other states. Dr. Norman said the state Legislature in Kansas is taking steps to prevent employers or universities from mandating vaccinations.
Dr. Norman said he thinks flexibility should be given, and employers need to match the safest thing for their workplace with the safest thing for the people who come to them.
With COVID-19 vaccines, he doesn’t see mandatory vaccinations anytime soon. He doesn’t want to see it complicate getting vaccinations to people right now, but it could be a question for the future, he said.
About the Kansas Legislature, Dr. Norman said, “This has not been easy sledding since May of 2020 with the Attorney General and the Legislature progressively trying to, by statute, curtail what have been century-long public health successful practices by interfering with case investigations and contact tracing. And then in this session, of course, taking away the authorities of the state health officials such as myself and the county health officials and leaving it to untrained medical people to make those decisions I think is very short-sighted and ill-advised.”
While these actions are being taken about COVID-19, people should remember there is a big syphilis outbreak in Kansas, and the state also had 400 hepatitis A cases in less than a year when they usually have 10, Dr. Norman said. These are diseases that take the same measures of case investigation and contact tracing, he said.
“It’s not a time to throw a bunch of obstacles in front of public health officials,” Dr. Norman said. It also makes it hard to recruit and retain public health workers, who are the backbone of disease prevention in communities, he added.
“I think the Legislature should stay involved, have conversations, but not derail long-standing, very successful public health interventions,” Dr. Norman said.
COVID-19 case numbers reported
The University of Kansas Health System reported seven active COVID-19 patients on Tuesday morning, a decrease of one from Monday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Of the seven patients, two were in the intensive care unit, the same as Monday. One patient was on a ventilator, no change since Monday. There were another 15 COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized but are out of the acute infection phase, the same as Monday. There is a total 22 patients, a decrease of one from Monday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of six COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, March 30, from Monday, March 29, for a cumulative 18,063 cases. There was a cumulative total of 285 deaths reported, no change since Monday.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 163,917 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 64. The number of cumulative deaths was 2,327.
The state of Kansas reported 301,862 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Monday, March 29, an increase of 429 cases since Friday. There were a total cumulative 4,902 deaths reported, an increase of 11 deaths.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday night reported 30,393,002 cases in the United States, with 550,967 total deaths reported nationwide.
Vaccinations available Wednesday
The Unified Government Health Department has posted a new vaccine sign-up form on its website at https://vaccines.wycokck.org/.
On Monday, Wyandotte County started Phase 5 in the state’s vaccination plan, that allows everyone 16 and older to get a vaccination. Wyandotte County residents may walk in to the three vaccination centers or may make an appointment. Visit WycoVaccines.org or call 3-1-1.
The vaccination sites are open from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the former Kmart store at 7836 State Ave., the former Best Buy store at 10500 Parallel Parkway and the Kansas National Guard Armory at 100 S. 20th (near 18th and Ridge).
Those Wyandotte County residents in Phases 1 to 4 also may walk in to a Health Department vaccination site, or may sign up for a vaccination at WycoVaccines.org or call 3-1-1.
Those who walk in to get vaccines should bring an ID and something showing their Wyandotte County address, such as mail. For more information about vaccines at the UG Health Department, visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-vaccines-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/.
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.
COVID-19 tests scheduled
Free COVID-19 tests are available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, at Faith Deliverance Family Worship Center, 3043 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Appointments are not needed. This is part of the Wyandotte County Health Care Task Force initiative. People may get tested whether or not they have symptoms. Free groceries are given to those who get tested, while supplies last.
Unified Government Health Department COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites are scheduled to be open on Wednesday, March 31. 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.
The Health Department is offering saliva COVID-19 tests to the public. Tests from the Health Department are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County.
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.
COVID-19 testing also is available at 8 a.m. Wednesday at Lowe’s, 6920 State Ave., by appointment. The tests are listed on the Go Get Tested site
at www.gogettested.com/Kansas. The WellHealth tests need appointments., which can be made at the website.
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.
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 doctors’ news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/491334295228632.
The University of Kansas Health System COVID-19 update page is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/265130208445513.
A weekly vaccine report for the state of Kansas is at
https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/123/Vaccine-Historical-Document-22521?bidId=.
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.