Category: Health

Health Department adopts revised quarantine guidelines

The Unified Government Public Health Department will adopt most of the newly modified guidelines on COVID-19 quarantine and isolation issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued on Monday, Dec. 27.

This follows an announcement from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment that it would be updating its guidelines to reflect the revised CDC recommendations. In its announcement KDHE said it would “adopt the following guidance for the general population; this does not include people who work in a health care setting or other congregate setting such as correctional facilities, long-term care facilities, preschool, K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.”

General population

The general population does not include people who work in a health care setting or other congregate setting. If individuals develop symptoms, they should get a test and stay home.

• People with lab confirmed COVID-19 infections, regardless of vaccination status, should stay home for 5 days. If you have no symptoms or your symptoms are resolving after 5 days and you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications, you can leave your house. Individuals should continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.

• Boosted or fully vaccinated individuals with Pfizer-Moderna within last 6 months or Johnson and Johnson within last 2 months who are close contacts of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection do not have to stay home and should wear a mask around others for 10 days. If possible, individuals should get tested on day 5.

• People who are unvaccinated or have completed the primary series of Pfizer-Moderna vaccine over 6 months ago and are not boosted or completed the primary series of Johnson and Johnson over 2 months ago and are not boosted who are close contacts of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection should stay home for 5 days. After that continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days. If unable to quarantine, individuals must wear a mask for 10 days. If possible, individuals should get tested on day 5.

Health care workers in a hospital setting

• Health care workers with lab confirmed COVID-19 infections should isolate for 10 days or 7 days with negative test, if asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic (with improving symptoms).

• Health care workers with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic can return to work only with COVID-19 positive patients during the remainder of the 10-day infectious period.

• Boosted and asymptomatic health care workers who are close contacts of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection have no work restrictions with negative test on days 2 and 5-7.

• Not boosted and unvaccinated asymptomatic health care workers who are close contacts of a person with confirmed COVID-19 infection must quarantine for 10 days or 7 days with a negative test.

Updated guidance can be found at KDHE’s Updated Isolation and Quarantine Guidance at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2364/KDHE-Recommendations-for-Isolation-and-Quarantine-Guidance—123021-PDF.

In all cases, the Health Department strongly recommends that people wear high-quality masks such as surgical masks whenever possible and encourages people to wear N95 or KN95 masks whenever possible.

COVID cases rising in Wyandotte County

Within Wyandotte County, Health Department epidemiologists say that COVID-19 cases continue to rise at a rapid pace previously not seen during the pandemic. Additionally:

• Currently the 7-day average for number of new cases a day is 134. By comparison, on Oct. 30, the 7-day average in Wyandotte County was 20 cases per day. That is a 570% increase in 2 months.

• 219 cases diagnosed in Wyandotte residents on Dec. 29 —the most in any single day during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Currently percent positivity is 48%–the highest it has ever been at any point during the pandemic.

• 408 deaths total—16 deaths just in the month of December.

• Hospitalization numbers are very high—104 patients currently hospitalized at KU for COVID.

• Demand for testing is very high and currently exceeds availability in Wyandotte County. The Kmart facility tested 555 people on Dec. 29.

COVID-19 testing in Wyandotte County

Health Department health experts urge anyone living in Wyandotte County to get tested for COVID-19 if:

• You are sick. Remember that COVID-19 symptoms can resemble flu, cold, or allergy symptoms, so it is best to get tested if you have any of these symptoms.

• You have been exposed to COVID-19, meaning you were in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 (get tested about five days after exposure to COVID-19.

• You will be traveling soon or have recently returned from traveling. Testing is especially important before or after travel if you are not vaccinated.

• You will be attending a large gathering or event or have recently attended a large gathering or event. Testing is especially important before and after gatherings if you are not vaccinated.

Go to bit.ly/WyCoCOVIDtest or go to KnowBeforeYouGoKS.com to find a free testing location near you. At-home tests are also available for purchase at some grocery stores and pharmacies. If you get a positive result through an at-home test, follow up with a health care provider about a confirmation test.

The Health Department offers free COVID-19 testing at the former Kmart facility located at 7836 State Avenue in KCK. Testing hours at Kmart are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday – Friday. For more hours and locations visit bit.ly/WyCoCOVIDtest.

COVID-19 vaccine and booster locations

The Health Department provides COVID-19 vaccines for people ages 5 and older, and boosters for eligible individuals ages 16 and older, at the Kmart site, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas:

• Note: the Kmart vaccination site will be closed on Friday, Dec. 31.
• January hours for vaccinations will be Fridays, from noon to 6 p.m.

The Health Department also offers COVID-19 vaccines for people ages 5 and older, including boosters for eligible people ages 16 and older, at the Health Department building at 619 Ann Ave. in Kansas City, Kansas, by appointment only. Call 913-573-8855 to make an appointment. Parents can schedule appointments for children 5 years and older at the 619 Ann Ave. location – appointments are available Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in January.

Additional vaccination sites can be found at vaccines.gov (or in Spanish www.vacunas.gov ) Find more information on COVID-19 vaccines in Wyandotte County at WycoVaccines.org.

Two drive-through COVID testing sites scheduled

Two COVID-19 drive-through testing sites in Wyandotte County have been scheduled this week by Vibrant Health because of increased community demand.

Rapid antigen testing is provided free of charge until 5 p.m. today, Dec. 30, at Vibrant Health Wyandotte: Argentine. Advanced registration for testing is not required. For information, call 913-371-9298.

The Vibrant Health Argentine location is at 1428 S. 32nd St., No. 100, Kansas City, Kansas.

Patrick Sallee, Vibrant Health CEO, discussed the urgency of doing pop-up testing at community locations.

“With another holiday this weekend and lots of gatherings and people getting together, we urge caution and protection for the community. Vibrant Health has tested as many people daily this week as we were testing entire weeks earlier this fall,” Sallee said. “From the race and ethnicity data we have seen for our county, we know that COVID-19, as well as many chronic health conditions that increase risk with COVID-19, do not impact everyone in our community equally. This means it is especially important for us to make testing more accessible.”

The total number of COVID-19 testing administered by Vibrant Health from Dec. 27-29 was 642, resulting in 179 positive cases at 27%.

Upcoming testing events (first two weeks of January) are moving to Oak Ridge Baptist Church to accommodate increased demand and cold weather. Individuals will need to park and go inside to test or get vaccinated. Vaccines available include Moderna, Pfizer ages 12 and up, and boosters.

Oak Ridge Baptist Church is at 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas.

Testing events at Oak Ridge include:

• Jan. 3, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Jan. 4, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Jan. 5, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Jan. 6, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Jan. 10, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Jan. 11, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Jan. 12, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Jan. 13, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, visit https://vibranthealthkc.org/events/month/2022-01/

COVID cases on the increase, doctors say

The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard showed COVID cases in the nine-county Kansas City area were trending up. (MARC COVID graphic from https://marc2.org/covidhub/)
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard showed COVID hospitalizations in the nine-county Kansas City area were increasing. (MARC COVID graphic from https://marc2.org/covidhub/)

COVID-19 cases are currently on the increase, according to doctors at the University of Kansas Health System.

Doctors reported 10 more COVID inpatients from Tuesday to Wednesday at the KU Health System, for a total of 98 COVID inpatients.

Nationally and in the metro area, the numbers of COVID cases also are increasing.

“We are steeper than at any point during this pandemic,” said Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of The University of Kansas Health System. He showed a graph illustrating the steep rise in national COVID-19 cases. “And it’s still going straight up.”

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System, said the vaccine works at helping prevent hospitalizations and death. Boosters have shown a good response to the Omicron variant, with an increase in neutralizing antibodies, he said.

According to Dr. Stites, the main variant in the Kansas City area is still the Delta variant, with Omicron second.

The doctors discussed testing for COVID, and said that testing is necessary to distinguish between the common cold and COVID variants.

A recent challenge is that rapid antigen tests may have decreased sensitivity to detecting Omicron, according to a CDC summary, said Dr. Rachael Liesman, director of clinical microbiology at KU Health System.

If a rapid antigen test is positive for COVID, that information can be used to begin treating it, she said. False negatives also are positive with rapid antigen tests, she said. If people still feel ill after a negative test, they should get a PCR test to confirm if it is COVID-19, she said.

“The laboratories are as overwhelmed as the rest of the healthcare workers,” she said. “We are struggling to staff our laboratories and that is a nationwide shortage.”

Recently, CDC has issued revised guidance shortening isolation times for people without symptoms who tested positive. The isolation period was shortened from 10 days to five days.

Dr. Stites said the CDC recognized there was a shortage of essential workers, and the new guidance could help essential workers get back to work after five days if they do not show symptoms. Those who return should wear a mask, according to the CDC’s guidance.

Dr. Hawkinson added that the CDC still recommends wearing masks, and masks will prevent spread. Masks need to fit correctly, and while cloth masks may not be as effective as surgical masks, they still reduce the spread of the disease, Dr. Hawkinson said. He encouraged people to continue wearing masks.

To see more of this discussion, visit the video at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/1609131246093423.

Vaccines available

The Unified Government’s Kmart facility at 7836 State is on a new schedule, and is open until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The Kmart facility will be open from noon to 6 p.m. on Fridays only in January for free walk-in vaccines. The Kmart facility will be open for free PCR tests from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays in January. The Kmart site is closed Dec. 30 and 31. Free vaccines will be available at the UG Health Department offices at 619 Ann Ave. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays in January, by appointment only. For more information, see WycoVaccines.org.

The Vibrant Health Argentine location, 1428 S. 32nd, is scheduled to be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, for COVID free testing and vaccines. Appointments are not needed. Tests available include PCR saliva, rapid antigen and nasopharyneal swab. Free COVID vaccines also are available.

The Kansas National Guard Armory at 18th and Ridge also is open on Thursday for COVID testing, through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. More information is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.

The vaccines.gov website was showing some vaccination sites open in Wyandotte County on Thursday, Dec. 30. Some of these included area pharmacies with slots still open. Some of the sites were taking appointments online, while others can be contacted by phone. Some of the sites were closed on Dec. 31.

COVID cases increasing

On Wednesday, KU Health System reported a total of 98 COVID inpatients, an increase of 10 patients from Tuesday, with 69 active COVID inpatients being treated, an increase of 11 from Tuesday. Five COVID patients were fully vaccinated. There were 13 COVID patients in the intensive care unit, a decrease of four from Tuesday, with 12 on ventilators, an increase of four. Twenty-nine other COVID patients were still in the hospital because of COVID but were out of the acute infection phase, an increase of two from Tuesday. The last inpatient death was Dec. 26.

On Wednesday, the Unified Government Health Department COVID information website reported 27,714 total cumulative COVID cases, an increase of 76 cases since Tuesday, and a cumulative total of 406 deaths, no change since Tuesday.

The UG Health Department reported 57.38 percent of Wyandotte County residents had at least one dose of the COVID vaccine on Wednesday, while 48.21 percent of Wyandotte County residents had completed their vaccinations.

The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID information dashboard reported 156 daily hospitalizations, and 20 newly reported deaths in the nine-county Kansas City area. There were 1,363 new cases.