Category: COVID-19

UG plans to apply for FEMA grant reimbursement for COVID expenses

A proposal to apply for budget authorization for FEMA reimbursable expenses related to COVID-19 moved forward at Monday night’s Unified Government Economic Development and Finance Committee meeting.

In November, the federal government extended the FEMA reimbursement period through April 1, according to UG officials. Previously, it had been set to expire in December.

The UG will be able to apply for federal FEMA grants to assist it with its recovery efforts and vaccination efforts, said Kathleen von Achen, chief financial officer for the UG. The expenses are reimbursed at 100 percent. That will allow the UG to use county taxpayer funds and ARPA (American Rescue Plan) funding it previously received for other programs.

Von Achen said there is a total $5.76 million request made in three different applications. The first application was submitted in 2021 and the UG already has received some funds from it, she said. The next two applications will be submitted soon, she added. They need budget authority to spend the funds so they can get reimbursed later for them, she said.

Wesley McKain, a manager with the Health Department, said in answer to a question from Commissioner Gayle Townsend that the only vaccination site currently open through the Health Department is the Kmart site at 78th and State. He said they are paying $11,000 a month on rent for that site. They also paid rent on the Best Buy site at 106th, now closed. They did not pay rent on the Kansas National Guard Armory site on 18th and Ridge, as they were allowed to use it without charge. Currently the Armory has a COVID testing site run by the state of Kansas.

According to McKain, major cost drivers for COVID-19 expenses include testing, contact tracing, communications, community engagement, social services and support, and vaccinations. Only contact tracing is not eligible for reimbursement by FEMA, he said.

Construction took place so quickly on the Turner Logistics Center, along the Turner Diagonal south of State Avenue, that a community improvement district is no longer needed, according to UG officials. The project has already met its minimum building goals.

In other action, the EDF Committee voted to end the community improvement district for the Turner Logistics Center project and repeal an ordinance concerning minimum building improvements of 1 million square feet constructed.

According to Katherine Carttar, UG economic development director, this is something to celebrate because the Turner Logistics Center has exceeded its completion goal by four years.

She said when the UG structured the industrial revenue bonds for the project, they wanted to make sure the local government would be paid back for its portion of the upfront investment in the new I-70 interchange at the Turner Diagonal. The project met its minimum construction goals quickly, she said, and the CID is not needed.

Federal judge blocks Biden vaccine mandate for Head Start workers in 24 states

by Jacob Fischler, Kansas Reflector

A Louisiana federal judge has put a hold on President Joe Biden’s mandate that Head Start workers be vaccinated against COVID-19.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who previously ruled against a vaccine mandate for health care workers, issued a preliminary injunction on New Year’s Day restricting the executive branch from enforcing in 24 states a mandate for Head Start, a federal pre-K program for low-income families.

The mandate called for all employees, volunteers and contractors with Head Start to be fully vaccinated by the end of January. Children under 5 who attend the program are not yet eligible to be vaccinated and at risk of COVID-19 infections.

A group of 24 Republican state attorneys general, led by Louisiana’s Jeff Landry and including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio and Tennessee, challenged the mandate last month.

Doughty, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, expressed skepticism about the federal government’s ability to contain the pandemic, including through vaccine mandates.

“In the immortal words of President Ronald Reagan the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help,’ ” he wrote in the order’s second paragraph. “In order to help rid the United States of the COVID-19 virus, the government has imposed four vaccine mandates,” including the one for Head Start.

Still, he said the decision was not about the wisdom of the mandate, but the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.

Executive agencies “DO NOT have the power to impose the Head Start Mandate” without an act of Congress, he wrote.

Doughty’s order will remain in effect until the final resolution of the case or by orders in his court or by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday on whether the order invalidating a vaccine-or-testing mandate for large employers and the vaccine mandate for health care workers should stay in place.

Medical experts have urged vaccinations as the best method of preventing COVID-19. White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci told NBC News last month that the “real problem” with the current omicron variant wave was that many people eligible for vaccines have not received them.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, fewer than two-thirds of U.S. residents 5 and older are fully vaccinated, and only about one-third of those who are fully vaccinated have received a recommended booster dose.

In addition to his ruling on the health care workers mandate, Doughty also struck down Biden’s pause of new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters last year, a major setback for the president’s climate change agenda.

Although he considers himself conservative, Doughty has said he does not consider politics when making judicial decisions.

Trump appointed Doughty in 2017 and the U.S. Senate approved him, 98-0, the following year.

The White House referred a request for comment to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Representatives for HHS did not immediately respond.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/03/federal-judge-blocks-biden-vaccine-mandate-for-head-start-workers-in-24-states/

Health Department adopts revised quarantine guidelines

The Unified Government Public Health Department will adopt most of the newly modified guidelines on COVID-19 quarantine and isolation issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued on Monday, Dec. 27.

This follows an announcement from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment that it would be updating its guidelines to reflect the revised CDC recommendations. In its announcement KDHE said it would “adopt the following guidance for the general population; this does not include people who work in a health care setting or other congregate setting such as correctional facilities, long-term care facilities, preschool, K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.”

General population

The general population does not include people who work in a health care setting or other congregate setting. If individuals develop symptoms, they should get a test and stay home.

• People with lab confirmed COVID-19 infections, regardless of vaccination status, should stay home for 5 days. If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days and you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications, you can leave your house. Individuals should continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.

• Boosted or fully vaccinated individuals with Pfizer-Moderna within last 6 months or Johnson and Johnson within last 2 months who are close contacts of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection do not have to stay home and should wear a mask around others for 10 days. If possible, individuals should get tested on day 5.

• People who are unvaccinated or have completed the primary series of Pfizer-Moderna vaccine over 6 months ago and are not boosted or completed the primary series of Johnson and Johnson over 2 months ago and are not boosted who are close contacts of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection should stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days. If unable to quarantine, individuals must wear a mask for 10 days. If possible, individuals should get tested on day 5.

Health care workers in a hospital setting

• Health care workers with lab confirmed COVID-19 infections should isolate for 10 days or 7 days with negative test, if asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic (with improving symptoms).

• Health care workers with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic can return to work only with COVID-19 positive patients during the remainder of the 10-day infectious period.

• Boosted and asymptomatic health care workers who are close contacts of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection have no work restrictions with negative test on days 2 and 5-7.

• Not boosted and unvaccinated asymptomatic health care workers who are close contacts of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection must quarantine for 10 days or 7 days with a negative test.

Updated guidance can be found at KDHE’s Updated Isolation and Quarantine Guidance at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2364/KDHE-Recommendations-for-Isolation-and-Quarantine-Guidance—123021-PDF.

In all cases, the Health Department strongly recommends that people wear high-quality masks such as surgical masks whenever possible and encourages people to wear N95 or KN95 masks whenever possible.

COVID cases rising in Wyandotte County

Within Wyandotte County, Health Department epidemiologists say that COVID-19 cases continue to rise at a rapid pace previously not seen during the pandemic. Additionally:

• Currently the 7-day average for number of new cases a day is 134. By comparison, on Oct. 30, the 7-day average in Wyandotte County was 20 cases per day. That is a 570% increase in 2 months.

• 219 cases diagnosed in Wyandotte residents on Dec. 29 —the most in any single day during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Currently percent positivity is 48%–the highest it has ever been at any point during the pandemic.

• 408 deaths total—16 deaths just in the month of December.

• Hospitalization numbers are very high—104 patients currently hospitalized at KU for COVID.

• Demand for testing is very high and currently exceeds availability in Wyandotte County. The Kmart facility tested 555 people on Dec. 29.

COVID-19 testing in Wyandotte County

Health Department health experts urge anyone living in Wyandotte County to get tested for COVID-19 if:

• You are sick. Remember that COVID-19 symptoms can resemble flu, cold, or allergy symptoms, so it is best to get tested if you have any of these symptoms.

• You have been exposed to COVID-19, meaning you were in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 (get tested about five days after exposure to COVID-19.

• You will be traveling soon or have recently returned from traveling. Testing is especially important before or after travel if you are not vaccinated.

• You will be attending a large gathering or event or have recently attended a large gathering or event. Testing is especially important before and after gatherings if you are not vaccinated.

Go to bit.ly/WyCoCOVIDtest or go to KnowBeforeYouGoKS.com to find a free testing location near you. At-home tests are also available for purchase at some grocery stores and pharmacies. If you get a positive result through an at-home test, follow up with a health care provider about a confirmation test.

The Health Department offers free COVID-19 testing at the former Kmart facility located at 7836 State Avenue in KCK. Testing hours at Kmart are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday – Friday. For more hours and locations visit bit.ly/WyCoCOVIDtest.

COVID-19 vaccine and booster locations

The Health Department provides COVID-19 vaccines for people ages 5 and older, and boosters for eligible individuals ages 16 and older, at the Kmart site, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas:

• Note: the Kmart vaccination site will be closed on Friday, Dec. 31.
• January hours for vaccinations will be Fridays, from noon to 6 p.m.

The Health Department also offers COVID-19 vaccines for people ages 5 and older, including boosters for eligible people ages 16 and older, at the Health Department building at 619 Ann Ave. in Kansas City, Kansas, by appointment only. Call 913-573-8855 to make an appointment. Parents can schedule appointments for children 5 years and older at the 619 Ann Ave. location – appointments are available Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in January.

Additional vaccination sites can be found at vaccines.gov (or in Spanish www.vacunas.gov ) Find more information on COVID-19 vaccines in Wyandotte County at WycoVaccines.org.