Category: COVID-19

Vaccine event planned Saturday at Harmon High School

KCKPS graphic

The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools and Unified Government Health Department are holding the fourth “Don’t Throw Away Your Shot” community event on Saturday at Harmon High School, 2400 Steele Road, Kansas City, Kansas.

Free COVID-19 vaccines will be offered, along with free flu shots, free sports physicals, free dental screenings from Swope Health, free food and giveaways. There will be performances from high school bands.

The event runs from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2.

During the past three events, KCKPS and the Health Department have vaccinated over 600 families, according to a spokesman. They hope to increase those numbers to keep students, staff, families and the community safe.

KCKPS will offer transportation to and from the event. To find the complete list of pick-up times and locations visit www.kckps.org.

A $50 gift card will be given to residents who get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Masks will be required at this event.

Doctors support vaccinations for those who work around kids

At a University of Kansas Health System program on Wednesday morning, Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, supported vaccinations for those who work around children.


He believes it’s the right thing for schools to require those who are around kids to be vaccinated and wear masks, just like hospitals such as the health system requiring all staff to be vaccinated and wear masks.

“I think there is a moral quandary here, and that is if we believe in the science at all of the times that we take care of patients, why would we not believe in the science at the time of COVID inside the healthcare organization?” Dr. Stites asked.

“If you’re a patient, you deserve the safest possible environment to get care in. But what’s the safest possible environment?” he asked. “Being taken care of by somebody who has been vaccinated or someone who hasn’t been vaccinated? The science shows us there’s absolutely no question you’re safer being taken care of by somebody who’s been vaccinated.”

He cautioned that while case numbers have declined with masking, they run the same risk as last fall when masks came off and numbers shot up with the big crisis in December and January. Masks, he said, are the biggest reason there is no COVID transmission in the hospital.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, said the current vaccine still offers great protection, and boosters will help decrease transmission of COVID even more.

Also, he said the best mask is one that fits well. Dr. Hawkinson said with flu season possibly around the corner, people need to be prepared for the flu because mask requirements have eased in many places since last year, when the flu was almost nonexistent.

Vaccines, tests available

COVID-19 vaccines and testing are available from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, at the Vibrant Health Argentine Clinic, 1428 S. 32nd St., Kansas City, Kansas. No appointment is necessary.

The former Kmart building at 7836 State Ave., a Unified Government Health Department vaccination site, will be open for testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and for free COVID-19 vaccinations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Walk-ins are accepted. There are incentives being offered for Wyandotte County residents, while supplies last. See WycoVaccines.org.

COVID-19 testing from WellHealth will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th. Appointments are necessary. The site is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To make an appointment, including a same-day appointment, visit https://www.gogettested.com/kansas.

Mobile vaccines can be requested online at WycoVaccines.org or by calling 3-1-1 (913-573-5311). For more information on the Unified Government Health Department’s vaccine schedule, see WycoVaccines.org.

COVID-19 vaccines and tests are available at other locations in Wyandotte County, including some pharmacies. For locations and availability, visit www.vaccines.gov.

Free vaccinations at KU Health System are open to the public, and appointments are required. Current patients may use MyChart to make an appointment. Others may call 913-588-1227 or visit kansashealthsystem.com/vaccine to make an appointment to get vaccinated. KU Health System currently is vaccinating residents of Kansas and Missouri who are 12 or older, by appointment only. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian throughout the appointment.

Case numbers reported

The University of Kansas Health System reported 64 total COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, Sept. 29, a decrease of seven since Tuesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Thirty-one patients with the active virus were inpatients on Wednesday, a decrease of two from Tuesday. Seven were vaccinated. Nine patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of three from Tuesday. Only one was vaccinated. Seven patients were on ventilators on Wednesday, the same as Tuesday. Thirty-three other patients were still hospitalized from COVID, but were out of the acute infection phase, a decrease of five from Tuesday. According to the doctors, the vaccinated patients have other serious medical problems besides COVID and would have been sicker without the vaccine.


Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 23,949 cases on Wednesday, Sept. 29, an increase of 33 cases since Tuesday, Sept. 28, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative total of 363 deaths on Wednesday, no change from Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Sept. 29, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 48.9 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled about 42.5 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 60.2 percent.

The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools COVID dashboard reported 114 students quarantined and three staff quarantined. There were 36 confirmed student cases and eight confirmed staff cases. The figures are new cases from Sept. 18 to Sept. 24.

The Mid-America Regional Council reported 215,800 cases on Wednesday in Greater Kansas City, a nine-county area. There were a total of 2,943 deaths. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 108.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 408,934 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Wednesday, Sept. 29, an increase of 2,481 since Monday, Sept. 27. There was a total of 6,024 cumulative deaths reported statewide, no change from Monday.

The KDHE reported 74,792 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on Sept. 29, an increase of 324 since Sept. 27. Leavenworth County had 9,924 cases on Sept. 29, an increase of 30 since Sept. 27. Sedgwick County (the Wichita area) reported 76,285 cases on Sept. 29, an increase of 518 since Sept. 27.

On Wednesday night, there were a cumulative 43,349,187 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with a cumulative 695,112 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Links

To view a University of Kansas Health System video, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/345194140722548.

Visit gogettested.com/Kansas and https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19 for more testing sites.

Wyandotte County residents may contact the Health Department at wycohelp.org to sign up for a test to be delivered to their home.
For more details about free COVID-19 testing offered by the UG Health Department, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept or call 3-1-1.

To view details about the extension of the mask order in KCK until Nov. 18, visit
https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/ug_extendsmaskmandate_nr_09102021.pdf.

KCK school board approves vaccine and testing plan

The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education approved a vaccine and testing plan at the Tuesday night, Sept. 28, meeting.

The policy “highly encouraged” staff and others to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and if they don’t have proof of vaccination on file with the district by Nov. 19, they would be required to participate in weekly COVID-19 testing.

All district staff who provide proof of vaccination would have five additional sick leave days added to their annual contract for the 2021-2022 school year, according to the new policy.

The board included school volunteers in the new policy, along with staff. The volunteers and staff would have to test weekly if they aren’t vaccinated.

A minimum of 45 days will be needed for the district to implement the new policy, according to administrators. Staff will upload a copy of their vaccination cards to a district website.

The administration presented the board with three policy options, and the board selected the second option, adding volunteers into the group.

Voting for the new vaccine and testing policy were Yolanda Clark, Janey Humphries, Maxine Drew, Randy Lopez and Dr. Valdenia Winn.

Wanda Brownlee Paige voted against the new policy, saying it was a public health issue. She said that so far, American society has allowed a lot of choice on vaccinations and it hasn’t worked. She was in favor of stronger mandatory language requiring vaccines in the policy.

Dr. Stacy Yeager voted no because she said she did not like the idea of volunteers being tested. She said she looked forward to continuing to work on the policy.

On an earlier motion by Paige, the school board voted down the first vaccine and testing policy option. The first option stated that vaccinations would be “required.” On that motion, Clark, Drew, Humphries and Yeager voted no, with Lopez, Paige and Winn voting yes.

“This is a public health crisis,” Paige said. “This mess will never end if we keep saying, we just encourage you.”

Dr. Yeager said she wasn’t able to accept mandating that all eligible employees receive a vaccination. She said she thought they would be the only school district in the county requiring employees to have vaccinations, which would be a hardship. She discussed the possibility that school district employees might leave if there was a mandate to get a vaccination.

Humphries said showing proof of COVID vaccination is similar to other school district rules that require vaccinations against other diseases.

Lopez asked for more explicit language around whether employees who tested positive for COVID were exposed in the workplace, and how it would affect their sick leave. That information will be added to the plan, according to the motion.

Stephen Linkous, the district’s chief of staff, said that currently the district is trying to follow the CDC recommendations along with the Unified Government Health Department recommendations. The district requires masking in schools, and that policy will remain in place.

A video of the meeting is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnolho4V9Zw. The discussion on the vaccine and testing policy starts at 1:54 on the tape. The vote on policy 2 is at 2:42.

The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools Board of Education approved policy option 2 on vaccinations at the Sept. 28 board meeting. The board modified this option, adding volunteers to those who would be vaccinated or tested. Also, there will be further language in the future about sick leave for those who were exposed to COVID in the workplace.

COVID outbreak traced to Piper High School homecoming dance

A COVID-19 outbreak has been traced to the Piper High School homecoming dance on Sept. 18, according to the Unified Government Health Department.

The Health Department stated today on social media that anyone who attended the dance should get tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible and monitor for symptoms. If they develop any symptoms, they should stay home, according to the Health Department.

COVID symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, congestion, headaches, body aches, chills, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or loss of taste and smell, according to the Health Department. Symptoms may be mild, and even if the symptoms are mild, individuals should stay home and get tested, according to the Health Department.

In a letter to Piper school officials, Juliann van Liew, Health Department director, stated that anyone at the dance should be tested before being allowed to return to school.

A number of Piper High students attended classes while infectious with COVID following the homecoming dance, according to the Health Department letter.

The Health Department recommended that Piper High students and staff continue to monitor for symptoms of COVID and get promptly tested if symptoms develop, according to the letter.

Any students or staff identified as contacts within the classroom setting by the school nurse should get tested five to seven days after exposure and quarantine, according to the Health Department.

The Health Department also recommended that the district have COVID testing readily available to offer students and staff. The KDHE’s statewide testing plan is available to all school districts free.