Tag: COVID-19

New information about one vaccine’s protection could spark debate

Doctors are watching new information that says a single dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could provide 80 to 85 percent protection.

“If that holds true, that may shift policy,” Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, said. It could be a game-changer, he added. He discussed the information at a KU Health System news conference Friday morning.

The FDA emergency use authorization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines requires two shots.

“We do need that vaccine supply to increase,” Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, said. “If the data from the Johnson and Johnson vaccine proves efficacious and safe, that will increase the supply. We really need to get it into everybody that can get the vaccine.”

Some people are concerned because vaccines don’t stop 100 percent of the disease, he said.

“What it does do is virtually eliminate death, and significantly, almost eliminate hospitalization from those severe diseases, especially in those very vulnerable populations,” Dr. Hawkinson said.

The 80 to 85 percent protection has been published as correspondence in The Lancet medical journal, but it has not been the subject yet of a detailed study of a randomized group, Dr. Stites said. It was a comparison of more than 7,000 hospital workers in Israel, who were likely younger and more healthy than the general population, according to the doctors. There was also a letter published about it in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Hawkinson said the double-dose vs. single dose for Pfizer and Moderna will probably be a moving target, something they will see debate continuing on.

If you are getting Pfizer or Moderna now, it is recommended to get the second dose, he said, to get optimal immunity.

“For now, two shots is the way to go,” Dr. Stites said. But they want to take a close look at new information, which will spark more debate, he said.

If it is 80 to 85 percent effective, then some of the vaccine already produced for the second doses could be assigned as first doses to other people to get more people vaccinated more quickly. Then second doses might be given at a later time, as vaccine supply increases.

“I think we’re going to have to look really hard at this question,” Dr. Stites said. In the race against time, for their own health and also the race against variants, they will have to take a harder look at whether they’re better off getting one dose in, rather than two doses in, up front, knowing they have to get back to that second dose later, he said.

Right now, they are still developing the data to find the answer to it, Dr. Hawkinson said.

The number of acute COVID-19 inpatients at KU Health System has started to increase again, with 38 active inpatients on Friday, according to the doctors.

Dr. Hawkinson said he hopes it is a just a 14-day high and it will shift down a little.

Greater Kansas City case numbers and hospitalization numbers are still pretty low, according to Dr. Hawkinson.

There are still very few variants identified in the United States, and they will continue watching them, he said. The UK B-117 variant has been found the most in the United States, and its numbers are still fairly low, he said. The variant is said to spread faster and is more deadly than the original COVID-19 in the United States.

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 72 on Friday, up three since Thursday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were 38 active COVID-19 patients in the hospital, an increase of five from Thursday. Ten of those patients were in the intensive care unit, an increase of two since Thursday. Four of those were on ventilators, an increase of two since Thursday. There were another 34 patients hospitalized because of COVID-19 who were out of the acute phase, a decrease of two since Thursday.

Wyandotte County reported an increase of 15 COVID-19 cases on Friday, Feb 19, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 17,452 cases. There was a cumulative total of 263 deaths reported, an increase of 1 since Thursday.

The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 154,653 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Friday. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 94.

The state of Kansas reported 290,832 COVID-19 cases statewide on Friday, an increase of 2,115 cases since Wednesday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were an additional 93 deaths reported, with a cumulative total of 4,614.

The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Friday night reported 28,006,110 cases in the United States, with 495,804 total deaths nationwide.

COVID-19 tests scheduled Saturday

The Pierson Community Center COVID-19 testing site at 831 S. 55th is open at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, according to the www.gogettested.com/Kansas website. Appointments should be made at the website.

Unified Government COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites are scheduled to be open on Monday. Those seeking vaccinations need to have an appointment, while those seeking COVID-19 testing may walk in and get a test kit.

The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open Monday, Feb. 22, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments are not needed for COVID-19 tests there on Monday. 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.

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 65.

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/kuhospital/videos/769421427321355.

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.

State tries to smooth out the wrinkles in the vaccine reporting program

Vaccines, getting the numbers counted correctly, and getting vaccination clinics to run more smoothly, were under discussion on Thursday.

At the state level, Gov. Laura Kelly announced a number of steps to bring the state’s vaccine count more into line with the actual numbers.

The state and health care providers will implement new steps next week in reporting the number of vaccines administered, according to the governor. The governor and state health secretary have said previously that there are more vaccinations taking place in Kansas than have been reported on a federal website.

Three new processes, according to the governor, will include a daily reporting snapshot for providers to report aggregate amounts and give a daily snapshot of their top-line data; improving existing reporting by requiring a flat file fix that is an Excel template file for providers who have had issues in reporting; and addressing underlying technical issues with a system-level solution that addresses the issues between provider systems, the state’s reporting software and the CDC’s reporting software.

“We want Kansans to have confidence that we are vaccinating at-risk Kansans as quickly as possible, and despite data lags, health care providers are administering all doses of vaccine to those who need them most,” Gov. Laura Kelly stated. “To fix these issues, we are working with local health departments and providers to urgently address the problem. The new processes we are implementing will allow us to spend more time and energy on getting vaccines in Kansans’ arms.”

Starting Monday providers will be required to report data daily on doses received, administered, in inventory and transferred via the daily snapshot, according to the governor. This information will give the Kansas Department of Health and Environment a clear view of where vaccines are being administered and will help surface reporting issues in KSWebIZ so they can be addressed.

Providers with identified reporting issues will be required to submit patient-level information to KSWebIZ and KDHE via flat files to reduce errors and account for doses that have been delivered but have not yet been reported as administered or in inventory.

The three actions aim to address the gap in administration data between what is seen in state and local sources and progress providers are making vaccinating Kansans, according to the governor’s office. The Kelly administration is working with the KSWebIZ vendor to identify and resolve the long-term data issues, according to the spokesman.

At the University of Kansas Health System news conference on Thursday morning, Dr. David Wild, executive vice president of performance improvement at KU Health System, discussed how vaccines get to the clinics where they are given to people.

About 10 percent of the Kansas population has now received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while about 3.5 percent has received the second dose, he said.

He said usually, the CDC allocates the vaccine to the state on Tuesday. The KDHE proposes where the available vaccine will go on Wednesday and notifies providers on midday Wednesday, usually. Providers can bring up any concerns with it over the next 24 hours. Then on Friday, the state places orders for vaccines and tells providers what the new allocation will be.

The federal government then ships the vaccines. It usually takes one to five days for the local health departments and vaccine providers to receive it, he said. After vaccines are administered, the doses are reported through the state’s WebIZ program, with inventory numbers going to the CDC’s VaccineFinder.

Dr. Wild said the KU Health System learns by Friday of each week how many doses of the vaccine will arrive the following week, usually by Monday or Tuesday. There is only a small window of time to contact people and get them to come in for a vaccine, he said. He said they try to get them all distributed within seven days.

The KU health system has been vaccinating some of its patients recently, and also signed up others interested in getting the vaccine. The patients were selected randomly from their patients who are in the state’s current phase. COVID-19 vaccinations have been given at clinics, including some at the health center’s Johnson County campus.

Through Tuesday’s clinics, KU Health System has administered more than 18,400 first doses and more than 10,000 second doses, Dr. Wild said. They are receiving 900 to 2,000 doses a week, he said.

With the timing of the vaccine’s arrival, they had to do weekend vaccination clinics along with clinics on Thursday and Friday, and last weekend was the first weekend clinic at the Indian Creek Johnson County campus, he said.

That clinic made the news as people over 65 waited outdoors in sub-freezing weather to receive a vaccination.

“We learn things very quickly about how the process will work,” Dr. Wild said.

Out of that experience, they changed their process in real time, he said, to make sure the line was not outside and to manage the flow of patients into the clinic to match the number of people who can be vaccinated at one time.

He said they learned people were arriving hours before their scheduled vaccination time because they were worried the vaccine would run out or they were worried about the weather. If there is an appointment scheduled, there will be a dose, he said. It makes it more difficult when people arrive early, he said.

He also said people brought others with them who didn’t have appointments, to ask if there was extra vaccine available. That “gummed up the system,” he said. It slowed the process down to have conversations with those persons who didn’t have an appointment and tell them vaccine was not available for them.

Also, he said wherever people got their first dose, they will get their second dose. They match first and second doses closely, and they don’t have a second dose for people who didn’t get their first dose at KU Health System, he said.

Some clinics schedule only first-dose or second-dose days, he said. Some may be a little behind, he added, and it is OK if people get their second dose a little late.

Also at Thursday’s KU Health System news conference, Dr. Carrie Wieneke discussed COVID-19 vaccinations for pregnant patients, and said she feels it’s safe for pregnant women to get the vaccine. Other issues with COVID-19 and pregnancy also were discussed.

Gov. Kelly announced on Wednesday that the state would now prioritize vaccinating teachers and school employees, sending more vaccine to local health departments for the vaccinations.

On Thursday, Janell Friesen, a public information officer for the Unified Government Health Department, stated in answer to a question that because Wyandotte County is already nearly done with vaccinating kindergarten through 12th grade educators and staff, the Health Department here will not be receiving additional vaccine supply for that purpose.

The 3,900 vaccines that was listed on the state’s COVID-19 vaccine page for Wyandotte County is not the number the UG Health Department is receiving, according to Friesen. The amount of vaccine currently being received by the UG Health Department is 1,950 doses, the same amount as the past few weeks, she said.

Friesen stated that the Health Department is receiving the same number of vials next week, about 1,950. However, Pfizer vials, which were previously marked as five doses, now are marked as six doses, and might be counted as 2,400 doses, according to Friesen. It’s not an actual change in the number of vials received here.

The Health Department has two vaccination clinics operating, one at the former Kmart building at 78th and State, and the other at the former Best Buy store near 105th and Parallel Parkway.

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 69 on Thursday, down one since Wednesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were 33 active COVID-19 patients in the hospital, an increase of two from Wednesday. Eight of those patients were in the intensive care unit, the same as Wednesday, with two of those on ventilators, the same number as Wednesday. There were another 36 patients hospitalized because of COVID-19 who were out of the acute phase, a decrease of three since Wednesday.

Wyandotte County reported an increase of 16 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, Feb. 18, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 17,437 cases. There was a cumulative total of 262 deaths reported, an increase of 15 since Wednesday.

The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 154,449 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Thursday. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 97.

The state of Kansas reported 288,717 COVID-19 cases statewide on Wednesday, an increase of 1,267 cases since Monday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were an additional 115 deaths reported, with a cumulative total of 4,521.

The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Thursday night reported 27,895,979 cases in the United States, with 493,098 total deaths nationwide.

COVID-19 tests scheduled Friday

Unified Government COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites are scheduled to be open on Friday. Those seeking vaccinations need to have an appointment, while those seeking COVID-19 testing may walk in and get a test kit.

The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open Friday, Feb. 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments are not needed for COVID-19 tests there on Friday. 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 at 831 S. 55th is open at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19, according to the www.gogettested.com/Kansas website. Appointments should be made at the 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 65.

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/kuhospital/videos/148007833829167.

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.

Seniors 65 and older now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines at UG Health Department

The UG Health Department has announced that those 65 and older, in three Zip Codes, are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Those interested should fill out a form on the UG’s COVID-19 website. Appointments are required. (from UG Health Department)
Those who are 65 and older and live in Zip Codes 66101, 66102 and 66105 are now eligible to gt the COVID-19 vaccine in Wyandotte County, depending on the supplies that are received. (from UG Health Department)

Wyandotte County residents age 65 or older who live in three Zip Code areas now will be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Unified Government Health Department.

Seniors in the 66101, 66102 and 66105 Zip Code areas will have first priority, according to the Health Department.

The residents must be signed up through a vaccination interest form on the Health Department’s website at
ughealth.info/vaccine, or at https://us.openforms.com/Form/f1edcf18-c07b-4efb-ad0d-49ded26c3000. Those who do not have an internet connection may call 3-1-1 for assistance in filling out te form. Updates will be sent to those who filled out the form, letting them know when they are eligible for the vaccine, when the vaccine is available and how to make an appointment.

Until now, in Phase 2, those 85 and older and high-contact critical workers could receive the vaccine in Wyandotte County after signing up.

According to Janell Friesen, Health Department public information officer, the Health Department with Dr. Jason Glenn, associate professor with the Department of History and Philosophy of Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center, developed a vulnerability index.

The index is intended to make the vaccine distribution more equitable and prioritize vaccines for residents at higher risk of exposure to the virus and serious illness or death from COVID-19, according to the spokesman. In the 66101, 66102 and 66105 Zip Codes, many residents do not have health insurance, and those areas have had the highest number of COVID-19 cases.

The second group of Zip Codes will be 66103, 66104, 66106, 66111 and 66112. The third group of Zip Codes will be 66109, 66012, 66115 and 66118.

A Health Department spokesman said there will likely be a similar prioritization of Zip Codes as the vaccines are given to the public of all ages later.

The Health Department also stated today that a new mass vaccination facility at 10500 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas, is now open for vaccines by appointment only from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The site also has saliva testing kits available on a walk-in basis from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The site is the former Best Buy store in the Plaza at the Speedway development.

The original vaccination site at 7836 State Ave. in the former Kmart building stil remains open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Appointments are needed for vaccines, but not for COVID-19 test kits.

There are plans for an eastern Kansas City, Kansas, vaccination site later, according to the Health Department.

School vaccination plan

At a news conference at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced a back-to-school vaccination plan.

She said counties throughout the state would receive vaccine doses earmarked for kindergarten through 12th grade staff. Schools will also receive free rapid result testing supplies, she said.

This will allow the state to bring students back to in-person school safely, she said.

Gov. Kelly said the state is able to implement the back-to-school vaccination plan because it has received substantially more doses than previously. The state received about 45,000 doses four weeks ago, and 90,000 last week.

This week, Gov. Kelly said she was told by the White House that Kansas will receive 115,000 doses. In addition, there will be about 9,000 to 10 000 doses sent directly to pharmacies in the state, she added.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is currently working on a schedule for vaccinating teachers and school employees, she said. There will not be enough to vaccinate all of them next week, but it will take place over time, according to the governor.

Wyandotte County is ahead of the state’s plan to vaccinate teachers.

The Health Department here has already vaccinated most teachers and other staff, although there may still be some who need second doses, Friesen said. Teachers and school staff were prioritized locally, she said.

Vaccine supplies are still limited, she said.

Although the KDHE vaccination website listed Wyandotte County as receiving 3,900 vaccine doses this week, Friesen said the Health Department is not expecting to receive more than the 1,950 vaccines it has received in the past few weeks. They will be checking to find out why there is a difference between their number and the number listed on the state’s vaccine website.

According to the KDHE, apparently the 3,900 was an error in the posted chart.

The UG Health Department spokesman stated that it is receiving the same number of vials next week, about 1,950. However, Pfizer vials, that were previously marked as five doses, now are marked as six doses, and might be counted as 2,400 doses. It’s not an actual change in the number of vials received here.

While staff vaccinations are encouraged, at the Wednesday morning news conference at the University of Kansas Health System, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, said it was more important to wear a mask and make sure those in the classroom are spaced apart. Reducing the number of people in a room, spacing apart, along with wearing a mask all the time works, according to Dr. Hawkinson.

A lot of the spread that has taken place in schools has been when adults aren’t following the rules, are eating lunch with each other or are having meetings in small rooms, Dr. Hawkinson said.

As students return to school, it will be important for parents to make sure the children are getting enough sleep, according to Dr. Steve Lauer, pediatrician. Sleep patterns can get distorted when children are not in school.

Dr. Lauer said kids should get to sleep about the same time every night and get up around the same time. They need a regular amount of sleep, around eight hours.

About an hour before bedtime, all electronic devices should be turned off and lights and heat can be turned down, he said. A regular routine, such as a glass of milk and cookies, will be fine, he said. They should have the same routine every night. Meditation and calming activities also can be helpful.

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 Wednesday, the same as Tuesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were 31 active COVID-19 patients in the hospital, an increase of two from Tuesday. Eight of those patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of one since Tuesday, with two of those on ventilators, a decrease of one since Tuesday. There were another 39 patients hospitalized because of COVID-19 who were out of the acute phase, a decrease of three since Tuesday.

Wyandotte County reported an increase of 33 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, Feb. 17, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 17,421 cases. There was a cumulative total of 247 deaths, the same as Tuesday.

The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 154,103 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 98.

The state of Kansas reported 288,717 COVID-19 cases statewide on Wednesday, an increase of 1,267 cases since Monday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were an additional 115 deaths reported, with a cumulative total of 4,521.

The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday night reported 27,825,077 cases in the United States, with 490,447 total deaths nationwide.

COVID-19 tests scheduled Thursday

Free COVID-19 tests are scheduled from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Vibrant Health Argentine location, 1428 S. 32nd St., Kansas City, Kansas. The testing is provided by Vibrant Health.

Unified Government COVID-19 testing and vaccine sites are scheduled to be open on Thursday.

The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open Thursday, Feb. 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments are not needed for COVID-19 tests there on Thursday. 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 65.

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 governor’s news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/GovLauraKelly/videos/179149120309819.

The KU doctors’ news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/241388167572662.

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.