After helping Native American tribes and also traveling internationally to help others, Dr. Gary Morsch of the COVID Care Force has seen many different attitudes about vaccines and COVID prevention.
In a recent trip to Eastern Europe, he saw strict COVID procedures there, with surgical masks mandated. In Czechoslovakia and Croatia, N95 masks were required.
Before leaving the United States, he had to be fully vaccinated and have a COVID test, and proof of these were required in Europe, he said. He took a COVID test every day in Europe.
In countries that rely on tourism, the people were grateful he and his group took the COVID precautions seriously, he added. He made his remarks during the morning medical update Wednesday at the University of Kansas Health System.
Visiting the Navajo Nation in North America with the COVID Care Force, Dr. Morsch, the founder and executive director of the COVID Care Force, said the vaccination rate there reached 75 percent months ago, and it is considered at herd immunity. The COVID Care Force is a group of volunteer doctors, nurses and nonmedical persons who help with vaccinations and health care. The rest of the U.S. is 47th in the world for vaccinations.
Dr. Morsch said there is a difference in the way the Native American culture approaches the concept of community good.
“It’s not about me and my rights and what I can get by with, but it’s about what can we do to get through this together,” he said.
There was a lot of trust in their leaders, and they followed their advice to get the vaccine.
According to Dr. Morsch, the best way to convince the vaccine resistant is educating through kindness, gentleness and empathy.
Retired Rear Admiral Kevin Meeks, deputy secretary of health for the Chickasaw Nation currently, and retired deputy director of operations for the Indian Health Service, said the tribes had made extensive preparations when COVID began spreading in the United States. They limited travel, restricted reservation access, and in the case of one tribe, locked down the reservation.
They did daily employee health screenings of 16,000 Chickasaw employees, drive-through testing and vaccinations.
They implemented a command system in April 2020 to run the operations, and when CARES Act funding arrived, the Chickasaw Nation constructed health facilities and expanded its capabilities, he said. A lab and alternate care site were built. An old Kmart store was converted and at full capacity, was vaccinating 4,500 people a day, he said.
Across the country, when bad things happen people come together, setting aside their differences, Meeks said. Tribes came together much more than normal, he said.
Dr. Morsch said there is a lot of commitment to the common good and respect for tribal leaders.
“It’s not about me and my rights and what I can get by with,” he said. “It’s about how do we get through this together.”
Those who are interested in volunteering in the COVID Care Force may find more information at https://covidcareforce.org/.
Vaccines, tests available
The former Kmart building at 7836 State Ave., a Unified Government Health Department vaccination site, will be open for testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and for free COVID-19 vaccinations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Walk-ins are accepted. There are incentives being offered for Wyandotte County residents, while supplies last. See WycoVaccines.org.
COVID-19 testing from WellHealth will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th. Appointments are necessary. The site is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To make an appointment, including a same-day appointment, visit https://www.gogettested.com/kansas.
COVID-19 vaccines and testing are available from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, at the Vibrant Health Argentine 1428 S. 32nd St., Kansas City, Kansas. Testing and vaccinations are available. No appointment is necessary.
Mobile vaccines can be requested online at WycoVaccines.org or by calling 3-1-1 (913-573-5311). For more information on the Unified Government Health Department’s vaccine schedule, see WycoVaccines.org.
COVID-19 vaccines and tests are available at other locations in Wyandotte County, including some pharmacies. For locations and availability, visit www.vaccines.gov.
Free vaccinations at KU Health System are open to the public, and appointments are required. 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.
Case numbers reported
The University of Kansas Health System reported 72 total COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, Sept. 22, an increase of one since Sept. 21, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Thirty-seven patients with the active virus were inpatients on Wednesday. a decrease of three from Tuesday. Nine of the 37 were vaccinated. Fourteen patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of three since Tuesday. Nine patients were on ventilators, no change from Tuesday. Thirty-five other patients were still hospitalized from COVID, but were out of the acute infection phase, an increase of four from Tuesday.
Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 23,690 cases on Wednesday, Sept. 22, an increase of 64 cases since Tuesday, Sept. 21, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative total of 360 deaths on Wednesday, no change since Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Sept. 22, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 48.34 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled about 41.46 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 59.5 percent.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools’ COVID dashboard on Sept. 22, covering the period from Sept. 11 to Sept. 17, stated that 191 students and 22 staff were quarantined. There were 46 confirmed student cases and 10 confirmed staff cases, according to the dashboard.
The Mid-America Regional Council reported 212,564 cases on Wednesday in Greater Kansas City, a nine-county area. There were a total of 2,870 deaths. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 122.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 401,931 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Wednesday, Sept. 22, an increase of 2,562 since Monday, Sept. 20. There was a total of 5,919 cumulative deaths reported statewide, an increase of three since Sept. 20.
The KDHE reported 73,869 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on Sept. 22, an increase of 298 since Sept. 20. Leavenworth County had 9,805 cases on Sept. 22, an increase of 34 since Sept. 20. Sedgwick County (the Wichita area) reported 74,513 cases on Sept. 22, an increase of 601 since Sept. 20.
On Wednesday, the KHDE reported 11,320 cumulative cases in Douglas County (the Lawrence area), an increase of 52 since Sept. 20. Riley County (the Manhattan area) had 7,490 cumulative cases, an increase of 33 since Sept. 20. Shawnee County (the Topeka area) had 24,082 cumulative cases, an increase of 123 cases since Sept. 20.
On Wednesday night, there were a cumulative 42,539,373 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with a cumulative 681,111 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
Links
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 testing 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://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept or call 3-1-1.
To view details about the extension of the mask order in KCK until Nov. 18, visit https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/ug_extendsmaskmandate_nr_09102021.pdf.