Cold weather and icy roads have delayed the shipment of vaccines this week, but Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, is still expecting 90,000 doses to arrive.
It will be double the amount of last week’s allotment, he said at a news conference Tuesday morning at the University of Kansas Health System.
Dr. Norman said no vaccines are sitting on shelves, and they are being sent out for distribution as fast as they are brought in.
There were some delays in the shipment of vaccine directly from the federal government to vaccination sites, but that is just a very brief speed bump in the road, he said. Those vaccines, which don’t go through the state agency, will only be a few days delayed, he said. Two federally authorized agencies in Kansas have been approved to receive vaccine, he said.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System, said he believes that delaying the second vaccine dose a little while in these circumstances is OK, and the vaccine will still have a boosting effect.
The current vaccines are expected to give people immunity for six to nine months. In response to a question, Dr. Hawkinson said although vaccine antibodies may decline after three or six months, that is not the entire picture. There are also B cell and T cell responses that are extremely important, he said. Certain cells are able to create antibodies if people are infected again with coronavirus, he said.
Dr. Hawkinson said more vaccine should be available if the FDA grants emergency use authorization to the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
When asked about the counties getting their fair share of vaccine, Dr. Norman said the state is spreading the vaccine on a per capita basis. A few counties are getting a little more based on a CDC vulnerability index, that includes factors such as poverty and transportation. It is a very minor amount that is given for the vulnerability index, he added.
The KDHE works with counties, Dr. Norman said, and sometimes a county will ask for half of its vaccination amount this week in order to ask for more in a later week when they are planning a major clinic.
Johnson and Sedgwick counties, which have the highest populations, have received the highest allocations of vaccine, he said.
Doctors at the news conference agreed that the problems were solely with supplies, not distribution.
Dr. Norman said it appeared from federal websites that Kansas was not distributing its vaccines, but he said the state gives the vaccines to counties to distribute as soon as it receives it. The state has followed up with counties where the numbers were not being reported, and found out that there were problems in the software reporting the numbers, according to Dr. Norman. Because of some technical data interface problems, the numbers that were being reported by counties were not showing up in the reports, Dr. Norman said. They are working on a solution to that problem, he said.
He also was asked by a resident in Osage County why she was being charged $30 to get her COVID-19 vaccine that she thought was free. Dr. Norman said the vaccine is free but the clinic can charge an administrative fee. He said the fee should be paid by insurance and that there should not be any out-of-pocket expense.
Dr. Norman also said the number of new COVID-19 cases in the state is down dramatically. It is now about 450 a day, compared with 2,000 a day not long ago.
Also, he said the COVID-19 UK variant could become the dominant strain in the United States as it is more infectious. A second case of it recently was found in the Wichita area. People should not let their guard down, and getting tested is important, he said.
COVID-19 case numbers reported
The total number of COVID-19 active and recovering COVID-19 patients at the University of Kansas Health System was 70 on Tuesday, an increase of two since Monday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were 29 active COVID-19 patients in the hospital, a decrease of three from Monday. Nine of those patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of one since Monday, with three on ventilators, a decrease of two since Monday. There were another 42 patients hospitalized because of COVID-19 who were out of the acute phase, an increase of six since Monday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 15 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, Feb. 16, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 17,388 cases. There was a cumulative total of 247 deaths, the same as Monday.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 153,756 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 98.
The state of Kansas reported 287,450 COVID-19 cases statewide on Monday, an increase of 1,348 cases since Friday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were an additional 42 deaths reported, with a cumulative total of 4,406.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday night reported 27,753,823 cases in the United States, with 487,927 total deaths nationwide.
COVID-19 tests scheduled Wednesday
Unified Government COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites are scheduled to be open on Wednesday. Other UG Health Department in-person services will be closed Wednesday.
The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open Wednesday, Feb. 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments are not needed for COVID-19 tests there on Wednesday. To see if there is any change to the schedule, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
The Health Department is offering saliva COVID-19 tests to the public.
Tests from the Health Department are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County.
The tests are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule. Bring something that shows that you live or work in Wyandotte County, such as a utility bill.
The Pierson Community Center testing site is scheduled to be closed Feb. 16-18, according to the www.gogettested.com/Kansas website.
Wyandotte County residents who are interested in getting a COVID-19 vaccine may fill out a survey form at the UG Health Department at https://us.openforms.com/Form/2f2bcc68-3b6a-450b-9007-d39819db6572. Residents will be contacted to make an appointment when vaccine becomes available. The Health Department currently is vaccinating high-contact critical workers, as well as residents over 85.
Testing sites are at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
Saliva testing is now offered at the UG Health Department. For more information, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/02042021-ugphd-saliva-testing-available.pdf.
The KU doctors’ news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=3709602189136767&ref=watch_permalink.
The University of Kansas Health System COVID-19 update page is at https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/patient-visitor/covid19-update.
For more information about how Wyandotte County residents over 85 can get a vaccine at the Health Department site, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/02032021_wycovaccinationsage85.pdf.
Vaccine data for the state of Kansas is at https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data.
Cards and letters of encouragement for caregivers at KU Health System may be sent to Share Joy, care of Patient Relations, 4000 Cambridge St., Mailstop 1021, Kansas City, Kansas, 66160. Emails can be sent to [email protected].
Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask and social distancing order.
The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
The KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.
The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.
The Wyandotte County page on the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 website is at https://bao.arcgis.com/covid-19/jhu/county/20209.html.
The Johns Hopkins Data in Motion, a presentation on critical COVID-19 data in the past 24 hours, is at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/covid-19-daily-video.