A COVID-19 booster shot is now available for some immunocompromised patients, and doctors at the University of Kansas Health System discussed this topic on Tuesday morning.
A third shot for this group of patients should not be considered a booster but a primary attempt at protecting this group, according to Dr. Joseph McGuirk, division director, hematologic malignancies and cellular therapeutics and medical director, blood and marrow transplant.
Even a third dose might not be enough for some immunocompromised patients, and they should keep wearing a mask and avoiding crowds, he said. These patients have worn masks and avoided crowds long before COVID.
Dr. McGuirk cited a deeply troubling story about a 32-year-old nurse who contracted leukemia a year and a half ago. The nurse was treated and recovered, after almost dying in the intensive care unit. She then had a bone marrow transplant and was in complete remission, he said.
The nurse has been vaccinated, but her husband did not believe in the vaccine for himself or their four children, he said. Now because of her low immunity, she has COVID pneumonia and her husband is very ill with the virus, he said.
“It’s completely unacceptable and I’ll just be frank, it’s irresponsible,” Dr. McGuirk said.
His staff is actively contacting immunocompromised patients to coordinate the third shot, he said. He suggested any immunocompromised patient could get the booster shot at a pharmacy, even if they have not heard from their doctor.
Everyone should get vaccinated and wear a mask, especially when they are indoors at places like grocery stores, for themselves and for those who may be immunocompromised, he said.
One of Dr. McGuirk’s bone marrow transplant patients appeared to talk about his condition. He had no immunity even though he had two doses of the vaccine, and will get a third shot next week, hoping to mount some response.
His three children, ages 9 to 13, took online classes from home last year, but this year they are going to classrooms in person. The school district requires masks, but the patient worries about what the children might bring home.
If the Delta variant continues to spread, the patient may become more isolated, moving into the bedroom.
“If we all tell the truth, it’s not vaccine that’s the problem. It’s not Delta that’s the problem. It’s not COVID that’s the problem. It’s disinformation that’s the program.”
He asked everyone to get vaccinated. “Each day is very precious. And so everybody who gets vaccinated, basically I think about that adding one day to my life. And I’m very thankfulf or every single person I see who gets vaccinated.”
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, discussed news reports that the Biden administration could announce a third dose for the general population. It could be eight months after the earlier vaccination.
They are not as much worried about infection as they are about severe disease, hospitalization and deaths, and the vaccines still continue to prevent hospitalizations and deaths, Dr. Hawkinson said.
He said when the booster dose is approved for the public, there will probably be conditions on it such as age and comorbidities.
To see more of this discussion, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/1214618615704716.
Free vaccines available
Free COVID-19 vaccines will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at the Kmart vaccination site, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Vaccines are free for people ages 12 and older. There are gifts available, and a “Spin to Win” promotion is ongoing for Wyandotte County residents, as supplies last.
The Health Department announced it would increase the Spin to Win prizes, starting Wednesday, for first vaccines given at the Kmart site, according to a Health Department spokesman. Previously prizes were as high as $50, and now they will go up to $100.
Currently, the incentives and prizes are only at the Kmart site, and only available for people who live in Wyandotte County and come in for their first dose. There have been other prizes at some of the community events that the mobile vaccine team has attended.
For more information on the Unified Government Health Department’s vaccine schedule, see WycoVaccines.org.
Back-to-school childhood immunizations will be available from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Aug. 18, and Aug. 25 at the Kmart vaccination site, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. These free immunizations are for children without health insurance or for children who are insured through KanCare (Medicaid). Parents should bring children’s vaccination records.
Cross-Lines Community Outreach will hold a free vaccine and testing event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, at 736 Shawnee Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson vaccines will be available. Another free vaccine and testing event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at Cross-Lines, 736 Shawnee Ave. These events are being held in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Oak Ridge Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, plans free testing and COVID vaccinations from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22.
Mobile vaccines can still be requested online at WycoVaccines.org or by calling 3-1-1 (913-573-5311).
Other sites available for vaccinations
Some doctors’ offices offer COVID-19 vaccinations. If you haven’t received your vaccination yet, call your doctor’s office to see if it is available now.
Free vaccinations at KU Health System are open to the public. 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.
There are also pharmacies giving free COVID-19 vaccinations in Wyandotte County by appointment, when available. These include Price Chopper and Hen House pharmacies, which are now also accepting walk-in vaccinations or appointments, and are starting vaccinations for age 12 and up at those pharmacies that are giving Pfizer vaccine (see https://www.ballsfoodspharmacy.com/).
CVS has announced walk-in appointments for COVID-19 vaccine at some of its stores. Those interested in getting a vaccination at a CVS pharmacy are asked to visit a CVS website in order to make sure there is vaccine available. The website is at www.cvs.com/. Walgreens and Walmart also were listed on www.vaccines.gov as giving vaccinations.
Other pharmacies and sites giving vaccines are listed at www.vaccines.gov. The website also tells whether vaccines are in stock at the locations.
Case numbers reported
The University of Kansas Health System reported steady numbers of COVID inpatients on Tuesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Sixty-two patients with the active virus were inpatients on Tuesday, a decrease of one since Monday. Only 14 of those active patients were vaccinated, and all of them have underlying conditions such as solid organ transplants, immunosuppression, cancer, lung and heart disease and diabetes. They range in age from 19 to 99 with the average age in the mid 50s. Twenty-one COVID patients were in the intensive care unit, the same as Monday. Fourteen patients were on ventilators, a decrease of two. Twenty-three other patients were still hospitalized from COVID, but were out of the acute infection stage, an increase of one. There were a total of 85 COVID patients, the same as Monday.
Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 21,436 cases on Tuesday, an increase of 67 since Monday, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There was a cumulative total of 319 deaths reported, an increase of one since Monday.
On Wednesday, Aug. 11, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 43.63 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled about 36.61 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 53.7 percent.
The Mid-America Regional Council on Tuesday reported 189,235 cases in Greater Kansas City, a nine-county area. There were a total of 2,546 deaths. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 167.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 350,384 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Monday, Aug. 16, an increase of 2,456 since Friday, Aug. 13. There was a total of 5,394 cumulative deaths reported statewide, an increase of 9 since Aug. 13.
The KDHE reported 66,528 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on Aug. 16, an increase of 484 since Aug. 13. Leavenworth County had 8,558 cases, an increase of 58 since Aug. 13. Sedgwick County (the Wichita area) reported 62,988 cases, an increase of 399 since Aug. 13.
On Tuesday, there were a cumulative 37,017,598 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with cumulative 623,308 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
There were 858,392 vaccine doses reported administered Monday in the U.S., with 51 percent of the population fully vaccinated.
Vaccination progress: California, 118,950; Georgia, 104,620; Florida, 70,374; Texas, 60,135; and Illinois, 56,406.
Vaccination progress: China, 21.53 million; India, 8.87 million; Brazil, 6.07 million; Japan, 2.86 million; and U.S., 858,400.
Countries with rising numbers of COVID-19 cases included U.S., 210,170; Iran, 41,194; United Kingdom, 28,358; Spain, 25,726; and India, 25,166.
Free testing available
Free COVID-19 testing is available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday at the UG Health Department’s central location, the former Kmart, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Free gift cards are available to those who get a test, while supplies last.
Free testing is also available from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays at Vibrant Health Cordell D. Meeks Jr. Clinic, 4313 State Ave.
Free COVID tests also are being held at the Kansas National Guard Armory, including tests from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at 100 S. 20th St., Kansas City, Kansas. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
COVID-19 testing is available at several locations in Wyandotte County.
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 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://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19, https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept or call 3-1-1.
To view the new mask order in Kansas City, Kansas, visit https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/mask-mandate-resolution-r-47-21-effective-august-6-through-september-16-2021.pdf and https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/ug-issues-mask-order-for-kck-and-other-portions-of-wyco.pdf.
