With the rise of COVID-19 cases locally, regionally and nationally, some areas now are requesting residents to wear masks indoors, even if they have been vaccinated.
Doctors at the University of Kansas Health System morning media update Monday discussed the situation. Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, said they have to be very thoughtful about this.
He said COVID-19 cases at the hospital were down to five some weeks ago and now they’re up to about 40.
While he’s not saying they’re ready to go back to masking indoors, they have to think carefully about the right public health measures to take, he said.
A lot depends on the community and its rate of vaccination and cases, according to Dr. Stites.
“If I were in Springfield, I’d have to say we have to go back to masking,” he said, but they have not done that there. Hospitals reportedly were full with COVID-19 patients in the Springfield area.
While many health care settings require masking, many cities have relaxed requirements in public places in the last few months.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at the KU Health System, said they need to take a close look at community numbers. The majority of COVID-19 patients in the hospital are unvaccinated, and all age groups are coming in, he said.
It’s important to identify the vaccine intake in the community, he added.
Dr. Hawkinson said if people feel uncomfortable in public places, they could certainly mask.
Dr. Stites said people who are on immune-suppressant drugs should still be wearing a mask.
Dr. Hawkinson said most people could be prevented from going to the hospital if they were vaccinated.
Dr. Stites said vaccination is the only safe way out of this crisis, along with wearing a mask. For more information from the news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/4040226086044558.
Free COVID-19 vaccines available
A mobile vaccine clinic will be open at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 13, at the Monarchs baseball game at Legends field, 1800 Village West Parkway. Those who get vaccinated can be entered into a chance to win a free suite at a future Monarchs game.
The Unified Government Health Department’s central vaccine location at the former Kmart store, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, will be open to those age 12 and older from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Walk-ins will be accepted. For more information, 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
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
There were 26 active COVID-19 patients on Monday morning at the University of Kansas Health System, an increase of six from Friday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Nine patients were in the intensive care unit, an increase of three. Two patients were on ventilators, an increase of one since Friday. Thirteen other patients were hospitalized because of COVID-19 but were out of the acute infection phase, a decrease of two from Friday. There were a total 39 COVID patients, an increase of four from Friday. Of the hospitalized patients, 32 had not been vaccinated.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 71 COVID-19 cases on Monday, July 12, since Friday, for a cumulative 19,312 cases, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There was a cumulative total of 300 deaths reported, the same as Friday.
On Wednesday, July 7, the Unified Government Health Department reported that 36.9 percent of Wyandotte County residents had received at least one dose of vaccine. Those completing their vaccinations totaled 32.03 percent.
The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who were age 12 and older who had received at least one dose was 45.4 percent.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 179,014 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Monday in the Kansas City region. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 56.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 321,109 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Monday, July 12, an increase of 672 since July 9. There was a total of 5,188 cumulative deaths reported statewide, an increase of 12 since July 9.
The KDHE reported 60,597 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Johnson County on July 12, an increase of 130 since July 9. Leavenworth County had 7,442 cases, an increase of 22 since July 9. Sedgwick County reported 58,381 cases, an increase of 87 since July 9.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Monday night reported 33,886,172 COVID-19 cases in the United States, with 607,390 total deaths reported nationwide. There were 6,164 new cases nationwide and 24 new deaths nationwide.
States with high numbers of new cases were California, 1,401; Missouri, 1,095; Arizona, 803; New York, 794; and Texas, 430.
Countries with high numbers of new cases were India, 37,154; Indonesia, 36,197; United Kingdom, 31,382; Russia, 24,544; and U.S., 6,164, according to Johns Hopkins information.
Free testing available
The Vibrant Health Cordell D. Meeks Jr. Clinic, 4313 State Ave., will offer free COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 13. Those getting tested will receive a free gift card.
Free COVID-19 testing is available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 13, 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.
Besides Health Department sites, free 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.
The Health Department’s general contact page is at https://www.wycokck.org/Health/Contact.aspx. The department’s Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
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. There are more test sites listed on this page.
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 University of Kansas Health System morning media update is online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/4040226086044558.
The University of Kansas Health System COVID-19 update page is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/330310795391910.
A vaccine report for the state of Kansas is at
https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/123/Vaccine-Historical-Document-22521?bidId=.
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.