As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the Midwest, Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan said Friday that HHS will continue encouraging basic prevention efforts at the state and local levels.
He was confident that a vaccine and more advanced treatment would put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, and until then, they are bridging the gap with simple public health messages and with tracing to put an end to outbreaks as they arise.
He said HHS is working with state and local governments to encourage people to follow the three W’s – wearing a face covering, washing hands and watching your distance.
Hargan visited area health care providers on Friday, and spoke during an 11 a.m. news conference with the University of Kansas Health System.
Cases are going to continue to rise in different localities, and they have from the beginning when they saw tremendous outbreaks in New York and other areas, he said. During the past few months, cases rose in the South, and now there has been a strong movement of cases into the Midwest, he added.
Hargan said the Midwest has benefited from the tremendous amount of treatments and wisdom that has arisen from communities that previously experienced outbreaks.
They’re doing far better than in the beginning because not as much was known about it in the beginning, he added.
They also have achieved much in research and development since then. He hopes that because of the efforts of research and development teams and companies they are partnering with, they will soon see an end to the pandemic.
Hargan believes they are “rounding the corner” because of the improvements on the research and development side, along with the production of the vaccine.
There are currently four vaccines in Stage 3 of clinical trials, he said. Besides the vaccines, a cocktail of therapeutic drugs may be approved, he said. Approval recently was received for remdesivir, he said. Steroids and antibodies are other promising treatments, he said.
Hargan said while the HHS is encouraging mask wearing, the federal government has limited powers when it comes to mask mandates. HHS gives advice and shares data with state and local communities, which make the decisions, he said.
Hargan said they have actively recruited minorities to participate in vaccine trials. The CDC is currently working on a public information campaign, he added. They are engaging communities with messages about the success of people who have gone through the clinical trials, and the safety of the vaccines.
Two of the vaccines are approaching the emergency use authorization date. They will have to be sure they have a safe and effective vaccine, he said.
According to recent news reports, the Astra-Zeneca vaccine trial in the United States that had been paused has now been given permission to resume. KU Medical Center was one of the sites of the trial.
There is a great deal of encouragement from the data produced so far, he said.
The states recently turned in their plans to the CDC about how they will implement distribution of the vaccines. Also announced recently was a partnership with CVS and Walgreen to provide vaccines to nursing homes, he said. There is not a set time yet for the vaccines to start.
“We’ve been able to achieve so much against this disease even without having the vaccines yet,” Hargan said.
Wyandotte County on Friday afternoon reported 29 additional COVID-19 cases for a cumulative total of 7,984, with one additional death, for a cumulative 162, according to the Unified Government COVID-19 webpage.
The University of Kansas Health System on Friday morning reported a spike, with 36 COVID-19 acute inpatients, an increase from 30 on Thursday, 11 in the intensive care unit, an increase from nine on Thursday, and four on the ventilator, a decrease from six on Thursday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were 33 additional COVID-19 patients in recovery in the hospital. At the HaysMed in Hays, Kansas, there were 15 COVID-19 inpatients, down one from Thursday, with four patients in recovery.
Kansas reported an increase of 1,774 COVID-19 cases on Friday, for a cumulative 76,230. There were 23 more COVID-19 deaths statewide, for a cumulative total of 975.
At the 8 a.m. Friday KU Health System news conference, Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance improvement at the KU Health System, said that COVID-19 hospital admissions were increasing. While hospitals are not flooded or overwhelmed currently, the hospitals could be if they get the usual number of flu patients this year.
The Midwest has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the nation, when adjusted for population, and Kansas and Missouri are just in back of North Dakota.
Wearing a mask and social distancing are very important in keeping the numbers from getting worse, according to the doctors.
Dr. Wild went over the regional case, hospitalization and death numbers. He noted that KU Health System experienced its highest number of deaths so far in the pandemic in October.
The KU Health System hospital was at 747 total patients on Friday, and although it is not overwhelmed, the numbers are not the norm, he said. The numbers are mostly from other patients, not COVID-19 patients. He said they have heard that hospitals are starting to become fuller around the metro area. As case numbers ri se, hospitalizations rise, and then deaths rise, he said.
Staffing can become an issue as the hospitals become fuller, he said.
The percentage of patients who are dying is lower, there are now healthier patients without underlying conditions, and younger patients now are dying, he said. The average age of patients who die has dropped from 72 to 63, he said.
Dr. Wild said he went to a restaurant recently to pick up a takeout order, and he saw a crowded restaurant and bar, without social distancing and no masks. Dr. Wild asked residents not to let their guards down this weekend, but to keep practicing social distancing, wearing a mask and washing hands.
The things that work, including masks and distancing, are critical now, said Lance Williamson, RN, from infection prevention and control,
For more information about the new testing site at the former Kmart location, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/10092020_newtestingsitewyco.pdf.
The KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/2784620095149508.
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 Unified Government COVID-19 hub outbreak map is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/.
To see an NEA list of schools that have had COVID-19 cases, visit https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=aa3f2ede7cb2415db943fdaf45866d2f.
The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.
The CDC’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.