Category: COVID-19

Tragic death could have been avoided with a vaccine, doctors believe

Doctors at the University of Kansas Health System on Monday morning said they thought the tragic death of a 34-year-old football coach from Olathe East from COVID-19 could have been prevented with a vaccine.


“That’s the heartbreaker, and unfortunately, we’ve seen that a lot in people who have been unvaccinated,” Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health System, said.

It has been repeated a lot among the unvaccinated, he said. About seven persons out of 40 active COVID-19 patients in KU Health System on Monday morning were vaccinated, he said. Deaths at the hospital were about 98 percent unvaccinated.

The seven vaccinated persons with severe illnesses on Monday were among those who were immunocompromised, according to Dr. Stites.

“At the end of the day, we have a decision to make,” he said. People can’t just think about getting the shot, they have to get the immunization. All three COVID-19 vaccines available are really good at preventing severe disease and death, he said.

“Don’t hesitate – you don’t want to put your family and loved ones in this position,” Dr. Stites said.

“This is an absolute tragedy,” Dr. Dana Hawkinson said, especially to someone who was making such a difference in the lives of young people.

If there is any glimmer of hope to be gained from this tragedy, maybe it’s that the young people will talk to their families and get the vaccine, he said.

Dr. Roy Jensen, KU vice chancellor and director of the KU Cancer Center, said he would like to understand what the influences were on the coach that led him not to get a vaccine.

“The vaccines work, they’re effective, they’re an extraordinarily effective measure to prevent death and serious hospitalization, and really almost everyone without exception should be getting this vaccination,” Dr. Jensen said.

Additional vaccine shots for some patients will make a difference, and the timing of them is important, he said. They’re still learning a lot about the time involved for immune response, but at this time they think at about six to eight months is the best time for an additional shot.

Dr. Jensen said people have been delaying their cancer screenings during the pandemic. Screening has gotten back to where it was, but they haven’t seen any additional screening, he said.

He said most of the people who chose not to get screened have chosen not to get back into the system. Some are being diagnosed at a much later date, he said, with the disease worse.

“If you missed a cancer screening because of COVID, please get that scheduled, it could save your life,” Dr. Jensen said.

He also discussed the progress of cancer treatment in the last 50 years, as the survival rate from cancer has gone from 49 percent in 1971 to almost 70 percent currently. In addition, the new Proton Therapy Center at KU Cancer Center was discussed.

Doctors at the health system noted that the total number of COVID patients there on Monday morning was 82, compared to a peak of 107 recently. Staffing is still tight at the hospital, they said.

For more information from the Monday update, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/883481592276333.

Vaccines, tests available

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. There are incentives being offered for Wyandotte County residents, while supplies last. See WycoVaccines.org

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COVID-19 testing from WellHealth will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th. 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, 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 82 total COVID-19 patients on Monday, Sept. 13, a decrease of 10 since Friday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Forty patients with the active virus were inpatients on Monday, a decrease of six since Friday. Seven of the 40 were vaccinated, and the seven had significant comorbidities or were immunocompromised Thirteen patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of five since Friday. Eight patients were on ventilators, a decrease of one since Friday. Forty-two other patients were still hospitalized from COVID, but were out of the acute infection phase, a decrease of four since Friday. According to the doctors, KU Health System couldn’t take any more transfer patients over the weekend but was full. The numbers might have been higher otherwise. The numbers also are down around the Greater Kansas City area.

Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 23,250 cases on Monday, Sept. 13, an increase of 106 cases since Friday, Sept. 10, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative total of 342 deaths on Monday, an increase of one from Friday.

On Wednesday, Sept. 8, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 47.37 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled about 40.52 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 58.3 percent.

The Mid-America Regional Council reported 207,223 cases on Monday in Greater Kansas City, a nine-county area. There were a total of 2,803 deaths. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 126.

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The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 390,031 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Monday, Sept. 13, an increase of 2,879 since Friday, Sept. 10. There was a total of 5,773 cumulative deaths reported statewide, an increase of seven since Sept. 10.

The KDHE reported 72,152 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on Sept. 13, an increase of 413 since Sept. 10. Leavenworth County had 9,572 cases on Sept. 13, an increase of seven since Sept. 10. Sedgwick County (the Wichita area) reported 71,570 cases on Sept. 13, an increase of 738 since Sept. 10.

On Monday, the KHDE reported 11,022 cumulative cases in Douglas County (the Lawrence area), an increase of 69 since Sept. 10. Riley County (the Manhattan area) had 7,334 cumulative cases, an increase of 30 since Sept. 10. Shawnee County (the Topeka area) had 23,380 cumulative cases, an increase of 162 cases since Sept. 10.

On Monday night, there were a cumulative 41,221,266 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with a cumulative 662,106 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Links

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.

To view the resolution extending the mask order, visit https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/r-62-21.pdf.

‘We demand better’: KU students, faculty call on administrators to mandate COVID-19 vaccines

by Lucy Peterson, Kansas Reflector

Lawrence — University of Kansas students, faculty and staff members called on administrators to mandate vaccines on campus during a rally Sunday, expressing concerns about the ongoing surge of the delta variant of COVID-19.

Nearly 40 people gathered at the university’s Wescoe Beach to push back on the administration’s reluctance to mandate a COVID-19 vaccine for individuals on campus this year. The rally was held by the Vaccinate KU coalition, which formed this summer with a Change.org petition urging KU to require vaccines. The petition has garnered 1,118 signatures since it was posted on July 18.

Vaccinate KU presented a list of 11 recommendations to the chiefs of staff for KU chancellor Douglas Girod and provost Barbara Bichelmeyer at the start of the school year, said the coalition’s founder, Sophie Kunin, a senior at KU. Kunin scheduled the Vaccinate KU rally in the shadow of Strong Hall, where Girod, Bichelmeyer and other administrators have offices, because none of the recommendations was implemented.

“The university needs to recognize that by not taking on this list of safety precautions, they’re putting KU and the Lawrence community at risk,” Kunin said at the rally. “Today is a day to recognize other perspectives and to discuss what we need to do at KU to keep our community safe. This rally is about the safety of everyone.”

The recommendations made to KU include requiring masks on campus until 80% of students are vaccinated, implementing social distancing requirements on campus and creating an office for contact tracing.

Despite several schools across the country who have mandated vaccines on campus, such as the University of Indiana and the California State Universities system, KU has not required vaccines on campus because “state law limits our ability to require vaccination or proof of vaccination,” said KU spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, responding to an inquiry for this story via email.

The state statute Barcomb-Peterson cited prohibits state buildings from requiring a COVID-19 “vaccination passport” for entrance.

KU requires all students to have a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine before arriving on campus and requires all students living in university housing to have a meningitis vaccine before moving in.

Advocates for an on-campus COVID-19 vaccine mandate included professors, graduate teaching assistants and students who are worried of contracting the coronavirus in classrooms. Many who spoke urged KU to push against the Legislature to protect the KU community and surrounding Lawrence community.

“Suing the state for the ability to mandate a vaccine could save KU, would save lives, and it won’t put any target on our back as an institution that wasn’t already there,” said Elise Higgins, a doctoral candidate in the Department for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at KU. “Vaccine mandates can lower COVID rates, and if our Legislature won’t protect us, you can at least try to do it yourselves.”

Professors and students shared stories of fear as they and those in their classrooms began contracting the coronavirus in the 2020-2021 school year, but were unable to know the extent to which the spread occurred because of a state statute barring KU from conducting its own contact tracing.

Since Aug. 1, 2020, a total of 1,824 people at KU have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to KU’s COVID-19 dashboard. In the week of Sept. 2, a dozen people on campus tested positive for the coronavirus.

Andrew Kustodowicz, president of the Graduate Teaching Assistant Coalition, said professors and GTAs were forced to return to in-person learning, despite the GTA union’s formal request to require vaccinations before returning to the classroom.

“I think what’s really unfortunate is that KU’s administration has kind of weaponized the overwhelming majority of people’s desires to be back on campus,” Kustodowicz said. “GTAs, while we did excellent work on Zoom, ultimately, we want to be in the classroom. But when KU said, ‘You will be in the classroom, there will be no vaccine mandate and you cannot choose to protect yourself,’ that became an unacceptable working condition.”

GTAC called a meeting as part of its ongoing contract negotiations with KU where members asked for flexibility in how they could safely instruct classes if vaccines weren’t required, Kustodowicz said. KU denied a request to choose how classes would be conducted, he said.

Student body president Niya McAdoo said the Student Senate office has had informal talks about on-campus vaccine mandates, and she and her administration are prioritizing protecting students’ livelihoods.

“People are still dying every day from COVID. We’re not out of the pandemic,” McAdoo said at the rally. “Obviously, vaccination has helped, but it hasn’t solved the issue 100%, so we have to continue to work together to show up for each other and show up for the greater community. If we don’t do it, a lot of other people won’t do it for us.”

Although the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine received full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 23, Barcomb-Peterson said KU is still unable to mandate vaccinations. No universities in Kansas have moved to require vaccines for its students, faculty and staff.

KU rescinded its mask mandate on May 27 after recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccinated individuals no longer needed to wear masks. On Aug. 6, KU said it would again require masks for the 2021-2022 school year because of a surge in the highly contagious delta variant forcing the CDC to revise its mask recommendations.

Naomi Madu, a senior from Abuja, Nigeria, studying strategic communication, said her family members have little access to vaccines in Nigeria. Only 2.3% of people in Nigeria have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization.

“I don’t know how to explain to (my family) that the country with the most vaccines in the world has the least regard for human life,” Madu said at the rally. “There’s no reason for us to still be here, and it’s unbelievably reckless that this university has adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach while new variants continue to ravage marginalized communities in this country.”

To urge students to get vaccinated, KU is offering prizes for students who upload their vaccination cards to their Watkins Health Center patient portal. Prizes include a full semester’s tuition, $5,000 in cash, $1,000 in dining dollars and a free campus parking pass.

“If we are capable of grasping the gravity of this situation we’re in,” Madu said, “our educators and administrators should be able to grasp that as well, and I hope they understand that our lives are worth more than $230,000 in prize money.”

Kansas Reflector stories, 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/2021/09/12/we-demand-better-ku-students-faculty-call-on-administrators-to-mandate-covid-19-vaccines/

Hospitals to receive funding for frontline nurses and care workers

Hospitals in Kansas will receive $50 million to provide premium pay or improve retention of nursing resources and support personnel, according to Gov. Laura Kelly.

The funding was approved by the SPARK Executive Committee, and will provide immediate support for Kansas hospitals to manage the current COVID-19 surge and address critical shortages in nurse staffing across the state, according to the announcement.

Qualified facilities may use the funding for either premium pay as defined in ARPA or for funding a program designed by the facility to improve the retention of nursing resources and support personnel, according to a spokesman. Premium pay may be distributed by the hospitals to frontline employees in the manner that they believe is most appropriate to ensure retention of critical resources and maintenance of staffed hospital beds.

“Many of our nurses are risking their lives every day to save Kansans from COVID-19 – and the immense strain on our hospitals is causing them to be exhausted and disheartened,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “They’re taking on extra shifts and caring for more patients than they can handle – and it’s our responsibility to give them the support they need.

“Frontline nurses need this funding to continue battling the COVID-19 surge here at home. I sincerely thank all Kansas frontline nurses and health care workers for all they do to protect our communities from the threat of COVID-19. I encourage all Kansans to do their part and get vaccinated immediately – for our health care workers, for our businesses, and for our families.”

The funding can provide frontline nurses and care workers with premium pay by increasing their hourly wages up to $13 per hour. Hospitals can apply for these state fiscal recovery funds and receive funding based on their number of nursing resources, and will have discretion over how to distribute premium pay.

Additionally, hospitals will be allowed to use the funding for alternative purposes to retain staff if it meets compliance with ARPA guidance. Funding in retention programs must be spent on pay and associated benefits of qualified employees. There are several reporting rules that will apply to the program.

COVID-19 cases continue to rise across Kansas with a daily average of 1,331 new cases from Aug. 30 to Sept. 7 – levels not seen since January 2021. On Sept. 10, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported 4,302 new COVID-19 cases since the last update two days prior. Hospitalizations continue to rise, with 612 hospitalized COVID patients as of September 10. This poses a challenge for hospitals to be able to provide surge support staffing and incentivize nurses to stay at their current pay rates.


More information will be provided to eligible Kansas hospitals in the coming days about how to access and properly allocate this funding to their nurses and frontline care workers.

Vaccines, tests available

A special vaccine event is planned from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Area Agency on Aging community room, 849 B N. 47th, (Indian Springs area), Kansas City, Kansas. The Unified Government Health Department is presenting the event with the Area Agency on Aging. Free COVID-19 vaccines, $50 gift cards for Wyandotte County residents who get vaccinated, while supplies last, and a free lunch will be available. For a free ride to the event, call 913-262-5190, with the code VACS, or contact UG transit at 913-573-8351.

Soccer Nation, 550 S. 55th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will sponsor COVID testing and vaccinations from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. Appointments are not required. Pfizer vaccines will be available for ages 12 and up, with parents or guardians required for 12-18. Johnson and Johnson vaccine is available for those ages 18 and older. Also, PCR saliva testing kits will be available. Vibrant Health will be conducting the vaccinations.

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. There are incentives being offered for Wyandotte County residents, while supplies last. See WycoVaccines.org.

COVID-19 testing from WellHealth will be available beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th. The site is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To make an 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 92 total COVID-19 patients on Friday, Sept. 10, a decrease of eight since Thursday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Forty-six patients with the active virus were inpatients on Friday, a decrease of four since Thursday. Seven of the 46 were vaccinated. Eighteen patients were in the intensive care unit, an increase of two since Thursday, and three of those were vaccinated. Nine patients were on ventilators, the same as Thursday. Forty-six other patients were still hospitalized from COVID, but were out of the acute infection phase, a decrease of four since Thursday.

Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 23,144 cases on Friday, Sept. 10, an increase of 68 cases since Thursday, Sept. 9, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative total of 341 deaths on Friday, an increase of one from Thursday.
On Wednesday, Sept. 8, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 47.37 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled about 40.52 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 58.3 percent.

The Mid-America Regional Council reported 204,916 cases on Friday in Greater Kansas City, a nine-county area. There were a total of 2,773 deaths. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 138.

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The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 387,152 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Friday, Sept. 10, an increase of 4,302 since Wednesday, Sept. 8. There was a total of 5,766 cumulative deaths reported statewide, an increase of 73 since Sept. 8.

The KDHE reported 71,739 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on Sept. 10, an increase of 515 since Sept. 8. Leavenworth County had 9,465 cases on Sept. 10, an increase of 92 since Sept. 8. Sedgwick County (the Wichita area) reported 70,832 cases on Sept. 10, an increase of 1,076 since Sept. 8.

On Friday, the KHDE reported 10,953 cumulative cases in Douglas County (the Lawrence area), an increase of 133 since Sept. 8. Riley County (the Manhattan area) had 7,304 cumulative cases, an increase of 68 since Sept. 8. Shawnee County (the Topeka area) had 23,218 cumulative cases, an increase of 342 cases since Sept. 8.

On Friday night, there were a cumulative 40,863,822 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with a cumulative 658,992 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Links


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.

To view the resolution extending the mask order, visit https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/r-62-21.pdf.