Four-year-old Hazel Brown had been well protected at home by her family and avoided COVID-19 for 18 months. But she went to preschool recently, where masks were not required.
Jenna Sutter Brown, Hazel’s mother, noticed symptoms of a cough and runny nose on a Sunday night, and thought it was allergies. Then, later there was a fever. She took Hazel to the doctor the next day.
Hazel was tested for strep, and Jenna requested a COVID-19 test at the doctor’s office. The medical advice they received was that Hazel could go back to preschool while waiting for the test results.
However, Jenna and her husband decided to keep Hazel at home, which doctors at the University of Kansas Health System said was a good idea. Test results that came back later showed Hazel had COVID-19.
“That was very astute to keep her home,” Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System, said during a morning media update on Monday. RSV is going around, but so is the coronavirus. Some of the symptoms are similar.
Hazel had to quarantine at home, and now is feeling better, sleeping and eating well, her mother reported.
Hazel now is back in preschool, wearing a mask, according to Jenna.
Jenna said they don’t know where Hazel got the virus for certain, as both of her parents had gone back to work, and Hazel had gone to preschool before coming down with it.
Jenna believes people need to wear masks and take mitigation measures to stop the spread of the Delta variant.
“It’s a lesson in authority,” Jenna said about people wearing masks. “This is what you’re being asked to do. It’s not blind obedience, but it’s the best for your community, and I want to instill that in my daughter as well.”
Dr. Angela Myers, infectious diseases division director at Children’s Mercy Hospital, said parents are the best judges of their kids, and it’s important to know whether kids are infected with the coronavirus. It changes things the family does at home and precautions they need to take, she added.
Also important, it’s a public health issue and they need to tell people they’re around, she said.
When it comes to getting a COVID-19 test, Dr. Myers said, “It’s way better to be safe than sorry and go get tested.”
Jenna and her husband had received a COVID-19 vaccine earlier, and Jenna had a COVID-19 test that came back negative.
Jenna said they had been trying so hard for 18 months to keep the virus away from Hazel, and they were very close to having a pediatric vaccine approved. “That was a sucker punch we were not prepared for,” Jenna said about getting the virus.
Dr. Myers said Children’s Mercy is seeing kids of all ages with COVID-19 currently, not just kids with underlying conditions. Some schools in the Wichita area where masks were not required have had to close temporarily, she said. The Turner school district in Kansas City, Kansas, had 23 cases the first week and had to change to a masking requirement. Other districts have seen cases as well.
Dr. Myers said last school year did not see as many cases. If kids were in school, they wore masks, and there was a lot of hybrid school, with some students studying remotely.
“People were in general more careful than they are this time around,” Dr. Myers said. Unfortunately, there is a more contagious virus this time, she added. To view the morning media update, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/4523739577684302.
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 had increased the Spin to Win prizes recently, 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.
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 a decline in the numbers of COVID inpatients on Monday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Fifty-eight patients with the active virus were inpatients on Monday, a decrease of four since Friday. One patient died Saturday. Twenty-five COVID patients were in the intensive care unit, an increase of one from Friday. Thirteen patients were on ventilators, a decrease of one. Thirty-eight other patients were still hospitalized from COVID, but were out of the acute infection stage, an increase of one. There were a total of 96 patients at the health system, a decrease of three from Friday.
Children’s Mercy Hospital reported 11 active COVID-19 patients, with three in the intensive care unit.
Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 22,511 cases on Monday, an increase of 186 since Friday, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There was a cumulative total of 325 deaths reported, no change since Friday.
On Wednesday, Aug. 25, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 45.83 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled about 37.87 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 56.4 percent.
The Mid-America Regional Council on Monday reported 197,291 cases in Greater Kansas City, a nine-county area. There were a total of 2,650 deaths. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 135.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 368,976 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Monday, Aug. 30, an increase of 3,203 since Friday, Aug. 27. There was a total of 5,557 cumulative deaths reported statewide, an increase of 10 since Aug. 27.
The KDHE reported 69,476 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on Aug. 30, an increase of 517 since Aug. 27. Leavenworth County had 9,071 cases, an increase of 99 since Aug. 27. Sedgwick County (the Wichita area) reported 66,503 cases, an increase of 645 since Aug. 27.
On Monday, the KHDE reported 10,413 cumulative cases in Douglas County (the Lawrence area), an increase of 78 since Friday. Riley County (the Manhattan area) had 7,092 cumulative cases, an increase of 32. Shawnee County (the Topeka area) had 21,761 cumulative cases, an increase of 309 cases.
On Monday night, there were a cumulative 39,057,358 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with a cumulative 638,711 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
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.
The Village Initiative, 3004 N. 27th St., Kansas City, Kansas, is sponsoring COVID-19 testing every other Wednesday. The next testing is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 8. Along with the COVID-19 testing, there will be a food giveaway. There will be $20 gift cards to members of the community that receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Appointments are not required.
Free COVID tests also are being held at the Kansas National Guard Armory, including tests from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31, 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 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.