Category: Health

New COVID variants pose threat for seniors

A new COVID variant poses a threat for senior citizens, according to doctors at the University of Kansas Health System.


Doctors heard at Friday’s news conference that there had been an upswing of COVID patients recently at the health system, with the numbers of COVID patients in the 60s last week. The number of COVID patients was 53 on Monday.


On Friday, doctors heard from Dr. Gregory Poland, vaccinologist at the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, that the COVID bivalent booster is working to prevent 40 to 50 percent of infection, and its real value is it prevents severe disease, hospitalization and death. That’s the reason to get the vaccine, Dr. Poland said.


He said the Mayo Clinic had seen a 30 percent increase in COVID cases in the past 10 days, along with hospitalizations and admission to the intensive care unit. It was post-Thanksgiving as the Christmas season is starting.


Dr. Poland was concerned they would not be able to offer the best medical care because of all the illness filling up the hospitals, including COVID, flu and RSV.


He was also concerned about a new variant XBB, called the most immune—evasive variant seen to date.


It’s possible some people today may get this COVID variant by Christmas and not be able to enjoy the holidays with their families, instead being hospitalized, he felt.


“So it’s really important that people sort of shake off this COVID fatigue and lethargy and take action to protect themselves. We are not helpless here,” he said.


Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health, said senior citizens make up more than 90 percent of the COVID deaths. People need to take precautions when traveling to see grandparents, he added.


The number of COVID deaths for people who are vaccinated has gone up in the fall of 2021, Dr. Stites noted. Three in 10 adults vaccinated and boosted still died of COVID, he added. The number jumped to six in 10 in April.


Only one-third of the people over age 65 have received the bivalent boosters, according to Dr. Stites.


Dr. Jessica Kalendar-Rich, geriatrician at KU Health System, said there is definitely a higher risk for older adults. How people are moving and healthy they are overall are going to affect outcomes, she added.


Older adults are in need of socialization, meeting with their families, and keeping communication going to enhance better mental health, according to Dr. Kalendar-Rich.


In other COVID news, FDA recently approved COVID Omicron vaccinations for children 6 months and older, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson of the KU Health System.


See more at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/2920465108096873.

  • Information from KU Health System

Lawmakers plan to introduce medical marijuana legislation at start of session

At second-to-last committee meeting on medical marijuana, lawmakers express cautious optimism

by Rachel Mipro, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — After months of meetings, compiling data and listening to research, lawmakers say they’re ready to take another shot at legalizing medical marijuana.

Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, and chair of the 2022 Special Committee on Medical Marijuana, said he planned to introduce a medical marijuana bill at the beginning of the January legislative session. Olson said passing legislation out of committee would be too difficult, and he planned to introduce it in the Senate as an alternative approach.

“I think what I’m going to do is — and any member is more than welcome — is to take this information and create the bill,” Olson said. “And I’m going to work on a bill with a couple members and then if anybody wants to sign on in the Senate, they’ll be more than able to sign onto that bill, and introduce it at the beginning of session.”

He encouraged lawmakers in the House to introduce similar legislation.

“I think that’s probably the best way forward,” Olson said.

The road to legalizing medical marijuana has been a long and rocky one, with Kansans and lawmakers divided. During Friday’s committee meeting, several members of the audience wore stickers reading, “Kansas says ‘No,’ ” to register their disapproval of limited legalization.

“Opening up that window leads to all kinds of corruption,” Wichita resident Denise Meirowsky said. She said her experiences with her 19-year-old son, who uses marijuana as self-medication for mental and emotional issues, showed her the negative influence of marijuana.

“It causes him not to have any ambition, not want to work, not want to do anything because of the abuse of marijuana. I haven’t been convinced yet of the medical benefits. I’ve seen personally what it’s done to my own son,” Meirowsky said.

On the other side of the room, Wichita State University senior Laura Cunningham, who was there as part of a school assignment, said she supported legalization of medical marijuana as a step forward for Kansas.

“I feel like a lot of people who do smoke marijuana are very productive members of society, and actually function better because of it. I think a lot of people have found this balance that is appropriate for them as an individual, and that’s what really matters. I don’t think that legalizing marijuana is going to necessarily cause this huge influx of people not having the motivation to participate in society,” Cunningham said.

During the meeting, lawmakers were given overviews of research on marijuana product packaging and labeling, limitations to amounts of medical marijuana that one person can possess, local taxation for marijuana and procedures for allowing medical marijuana access for incarcerated people. The feeling in the room seemed to be that the lawmakers had been given all the necessary information, with the meeting ending about three hours earlier than expected.

“You’ve had eight state agencies visit with you, you’ve had nine or 10 research memos by the legislative research department, you’ve had over 60 conferees that have testified in two days before this committee and you have reviewed a couple of bills that were alive last session and so on. In other words, you’ve been inundated with information,” said Mike Heim, a staff member in the Office of Revisor of Statutes, while giving his overview to lawmakers.

In 2021, the Kansas House approved medical marijuana legalization, but Senate Bill 560, which would have allowed for the cultivation, distribution, processing, dispensing and purchase of marijuana and paraphernalia, died in committee during the last days of the legislative session.

Senate President Ty Masterson said budget and school funding legislation were a higher priority to him than medical marijuana.

Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, said she hoped medical marijuana legalization legislation would pass the Senate this time, but she remembered of last year’s failure.

“The whole issue is last year, we had a very strong bill that passed the House, and Senate President Ty Masterson wouldn’t allow it to move forward. So I know there are different parties who have been reaching out to him to remind him of how important an issue this is to a lot of different people. So time will tell,” Holscher said.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/11/lawmakers-plan-to-introduce-medical-marijuana-legislation-at-start-of-session/

Red Cross: Give blood ahead of hectic holidays

The American Red Cross is reminding people to give blood before the hectic holiday season.

Blood donations typically decline during the holidays because of travel, seasonal illnesses and the weather, according to a Red Cross spokesman.

It’s important for donors − especially type O blood donors and platelet donors − to give now to ensure hospitals have the blood they need through the end of the year, according to the Red Cross.

Schedule an appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Upcoming Red Cross blood drives in Wyandotte County include:

  • Bonner Springs, from noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 16 at the YMCA, 2251 S. 138th St., Bonner Springs.
  • Kansas City, Kansas, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Dec. 28 at Cabelas, 10300 Cabela Drive.
  • Kansas City, Kansas, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 28 at the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, South Branch, 3104 Strong Ave.

According to the Red Cross, all who come to give blood through Dec. 15 will receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card by email from Amazon. Those who come to give blood Dec. 16 to Jan. 2 will get a long-sleeved Red Cross T-shirt, while supplies last.