Category: COVID-19

As BA.2 variant prevalence increases in northeast U.S., Kansas hospitals already altering response

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — While publicly available data may lag, medical experts at a Kansas hospital system say the prevalence of the BA.2 variant of COVID-19 is slowly rising and is already affecting pandemic response.

The variant has yet to become the most prevalent strain in Kansas, but as cases become more common in some areas of the country, especially in the northeast, public health leaders are having to make quick changes in response. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration limited the use of sotrovimab, a COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy, because it does not work against BA.2.

States where the variant is prevalent no longer have FDA authorization to use the treatment.

In addition, reports suggest President Joe Biden is planning an additional round of booster shots for older adults in the coming weeks.

“We have not been using sotrovimab now for a week and a half or two weeks,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of infection prevention at the University of Kansas Health System, adding that, “we do know the prevalence of BA.2 is increasing (in Kansas) but overall, we still are not seeing a large increase in cases.”

Sotrovimab was the last monoclonal antibody unaffected by new coronavirus strains after the FDA revoked authorizations for several other antibody therapies that did not work against the Omicron variant.

According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, about 35% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. were caused by BA.2. In monitoring by the CDC, the region including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut saw more than half of the cases linked to the variant.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has recorded more than 750,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 8,000 deaths.

While case numbers appear to be leveling off in Kansas, Dr. Steven Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, said doctors are still treating patients. Currently, half of those patients are at KU Health System for COVID-19-related issues, and the other half are there with COVID-19.

“If you’ve been vaccinated, you’re more likely to be asymptomatic, so you may come in positive, but you may be coming in for your hip surgery or your back surgery, and we still register you as positive because that’s what we’re required to do,” Dr. Stites said.

He reiterated that the best way to avoid being part of the group in the hospital specifically for COVID-19 related complications was to get not just vaccinated but boosted. He noted a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing the importance of the additional shot.

“It was people who had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine could either get a placebo for their booster or a real dose of vaccination to test the real-world effectiveness of vaccine booster vaccinations,” Dr. Stites said. “What they found was a 95% 98% reduction in serious hospitalization and death if you’ve had the booster vaccination, against if you had not had the booster vaccination.”

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/2022/03/28/as-ba-2-variant-prevalence-increases-in-northeast-u-s-kansas-hospitals-already-altering-response/

Kansas COVID-19 case numbers, hospitalizations slowing as weather warms up

Medical experts encourage vaccinations to maintain low caseload

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, some Kansas hospitals are seeing low to no COVID-19 patients in critical care units as case numbers statewide appear to be in a lull.

Case numbers across the state continue to decrease from the spike in omicron variant cases in mid-January, easing the burden on many overwhelmed hospitals. For example, Ascension Via Christi in Manhattan reported earlier this month they no longer had any COVID-19 patients in their intensive care unit for the first time since 2020.

In Topeka, Stormont Vail reported nine total COVID-19 inpatients. The University of Kansas Health System still has 75 COVID-19 patients, but only 1 in the ICU because of the disease.

Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control for KU Health, said if the status quo were to remain, Kansas is trending in a good direction as the weather gets warmer.

“We are building up good individual immunity, and I hope community or population immunity as well,” Hawkinson said. “But we also know that the virus is continuing to circulate. Overall cases have been going down, hospitalizations have been decreasing, and so have deaths. So those are all good things, but we may be in a lull right now.”

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, as of March 17, there are 29% of ICU beds available in reporting Kansas hospitals. The reduction in patient traffic comes as daily case numbers have dropped into and sometimes below the hundreds statewide, as opposed to the peak of the omicron surge where new patient counts were in the thousands every day.

Reporting from KDHE indicates 115 new COVID-19 cases, 4 new deaths and 45 new hospitalizations between Friday and Monday. That brings the total since March 2020 to 769, 333 cases, 8,150 deaths and 19,894 hospitalizations.

Vaccine rates also continue a slow climb statewide. Currently, 73.9% of Kansans have received at least one dose and 60.7% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among adults, the fully vaccinated rate is 71.5%.

Hawkinson once again encouraged Kansans to pursue full vaccination. He said while further research and guidance are still needed, recent reports indicating the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remained durable and effective during the delta variant surge is an encouraging sign for those who received the shot.

“It adds to this story that we know is true, that these vaccines continue to protect against hospitalizations, severe disease and death,” Hawkinson said.

With the BA.2 variant of COVID-19 surging in foreign countries, Hawkinson said now is the time for people to ensure they are well prepared. The so-called “stealth omicron” variant now accounts for 75% of coronavirus cases globally but only 23% of cases in the U.S., according to the CDC.

Karin Porter-Williamson, director of palliative care at the KU Health System, said her division is focused on helping families and patients deal with the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of COVID-19. She said case numbers spiking last year after a tame summer where restrictions were dropped was a gut punch to many people’s mental health.

With similar conditions this year, she is preparing her staff just in case.

“Right now, we’re, we’re in another lull that hopefully will be sustainable,” Porter-Williamson said. “We’ve worked to develop skills of resiliency, just to keep coming to work and doing our best job. We need to be able to adapt and just do the work that is in front of us the best that we can.”

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/2022/03/21/kansas-covid-19-case-numbers-hospitalizations-slowing-as-weather-warms-up/

Will a fourth COVID shot be recommended?

COVID-19 case numbers have declined recently in the United States and in Wyandotte County, but they are on the rise in parts of Europe and Asia.

That is giving rise to questions about a fourth COVID vaccine in the future, a topic that health experts are currently studying.

At the University of Kansas Health System, Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, said on Wednesday that more data was needed before deciding on whether there should be a fourth COVID shot.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System, said increasing numbers of COVID cases in Europe were concerning. Although it’s a positive sign that COVID numbers are down in the Greater Kansas City area, he urged residents to keep their guards up because COVID is still out there.

Brandi Dickerson, site lead for the Unified Government Health Department at the COVID-19 vaccination facility (the Kmart site) in Wyandotte County, said studies evaluating the efficacy of an additional booster shot are currently underway.

“Once completed those must be reviewed at the federal level before another booster shot is recommended by the CDC and FDA,” she said. “The UGPHD receives its guidance from the FDA, CDC and KDHE. If those entities eventually recommend another booster shot, we will let Wyandotte County residents know where and how to get one. Protection of our community has always been and always will be our number one priority.”

On Thursday, the countries with the highest increases in COVID cases, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID website, were South Korea, 387,280; Vietnam, 254,060; Germany, 205,570; and the United Kingdom, 75,051. The United States had 31,826 additional cases reported on Thursday.

On Thursday, the UG Health Department reported a cumulative total of 39,814 positive COVID cases in Wyandotte County, and 487 deaths. It was an increase of eight cases and three deaths since Tuesday.

Wyandotte County is currently listed by the CDC as a “high risk” county for COVID-19, and the CDC recommends that residents wear masks in indoor public spaces. Testing is recommended for persons who have symptoms. For more information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html.

The University of Kansas Health System reported 85 total COVID patients on Thursday, a slight increase of 13 from Wednesday. There were 18 patients with the active COVID virus, an increase of nine since Wednesday; one patient in the intensive care unit, an increase of one since Wednesday; and one on a ventilator, an increase of one since Wednesday. There were 67 other COVID patients who were in the hospital but were not in the acute infection phase, an increase of four from Wednesday.

For a list of COVID testing and vaccine sites, visit https://www.wycokck.org/covid-19.

For more sites where vaccines are available, visit www.vaccines.gov.