A COVID-19 variant that was previously identified in the United Kingdom has now been found in a patient in the Hays, Kansas, area, according to a news release from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The UK variant, known as B.1.1.7., has now been found in 33 states in the United States, according to KDHE officials.
A case investigation is underway in western Kansas to determine how the person became infected with the variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as if others may have been exposed, the KDHE stated.
A student-athlete at Fort Hays State University was identified as the patient who tested positive for the COVID-19 variant, according to another news release on Thursday from Fort Hays State University and the Ellis County Health Department.
The Ellis Health Department and Fort Hays State University release stated that the student-athlete tested positive as part of the university’s weekly student-athlete testing program, and has been identified through whole genome sequencing as positive for the variant.
Individuals at an elevated risk will be notified through contact tracing, and KDHE is deploying a mobile lab to the university later Thursday, according to the news release.
The KDHE will conduct on-site testing, and will receive results within four hours, according to the news release, and also will collect samples to be sent to the state lab for whole-genome sequencing analysis to identify potential COVID-19 variants.
The university and health department stated that the best way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and its evolving variants is to continue to adhere to essential health and safety precautions, including physical distancing, wearing face masks, practicing good hygiene, staying home if ill, following isolation and quarantine recommendations and getting vaccinated as soon as it is available.
Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, said on Wednesday that the state has been doing genomic sequencing on Winfield, Kansas, inmates because an outbreak of COVID-19 at the correctional facility there was spreading faster than it usually does.
At the University of Kansas Health System news conference Thursday morning, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, said while they don’t know the full effect of the new variant because they don’t have the full data yet, there has been early information that the variant may spread more easily.
The virus variant binds to the receptor on bodies tighter to cause infection more readily than the original Wuhan strain virus, he said. The CDC said on Wednesday that there is mounting evidence of higher mortality, he said.
Although everyone is weary of COVID-19 precautions, people need to be more vigilant, especially this weekend around Super Bowl parties, according to the doctors.
If the COVID-19 variant is in Hays, there’s a chance it’s in Kansas City and surrounding areas, Dr. Hawkinson said. Wearing a mask and social distancing are important.
Dr. Hawkinson urged people to keep those measures going because they know those measures can decrease and help stop the spread of this disease.
Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance improvement at KU Health System, said they don’t know the population impact yet of the new variants. Last week he said he thought variants were probably already present in the Kansas City area and in the state. There will be more variant cases, he said. The difference in how the variants cause disease will be what they need to learn in the future, he said.
The Unified Government Health Department on Wednesday announced it is starting to vaccinate Wyandotte County residents who are 85 and older.
A Health Department spokesman, Janell Friesen, said that appointments for those 85 and older were started this week. The highest priority within the 85 and older group will be the oldest ones in the group, she said. Seniors may fill out a vaccine interest form at ughealth.info/vaccine.
The UG Health Department received 1,950 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the state this week, Friesen said. So far, the Health Department’s cumulative total is 11,493 doses of the vaccine, which are mostly first doses, she said. Those vaccines were given at the Health Department site at the former Kmart store at 78th and State.
The numbers do not include any vaccines distributed at long-term care facilities or at the hospitals or clinics in Wyandotte County, she added.
Friesen said the Health Department has vaccinated a lot of critical high-contact workers in Phase 2, but not all of them yet.
She said employers of the critical high-contact workers in grocery stores, food service and food processing are encouraged to get the employees signed up to be vaccinated. All the critical high-contact workers are still eligible to be vaccinated, she added, and they will be worked in alongside the 85 and older individuals.
Friesen said the Health Department is gearing up to open another vaccination site on the west side of Wyandotte County soon, and also is planning one for the east side. They are still completing the details on them, she said.
When the Health Department has a larger vaccine supply, it will have the capacity to do many more vaccinations, she said.
“We want to remind folks to sign up with the vaccine interest form available online,” she said. That form is on the Health Department’s COVID-19 website at https://us.openforms.com/Form/f1edcf18-c07b-4efb-ad0d-49ded26c3000. When a vaccine is available, the Health Department will notify people and an appointment will be made.
Those who do not have access to the internet may call 311 for help with signing up, she said. The Health Department especially wants older adults, 85 and older, to sign up, and relatives or friends can help them sign up, she said.
According to the Health Department, because the supply of vaccine is still very limited, the timeline for vaccinating people who are 65 to 84 will depend on the available supply of vaccine.
“We are so happy to be able to start providing vaccines for seniors in our community, while still offering vaccines to critical workers who are at high risk for exposure,” said Juliann Van Liew, director of the Health Department, in a news release. “As we roll out vaccinations for people age 85 and older, we are beginning with our oldest seniors first, such as those who are 95 and older, because they are more vulnerable to serious illness or death from COVID-19. Unfortunately, vaccine supplies are still limited, but we felt it was important that we start vaccinating these folks given the level of risk they face. As we get additional vaccines, we will begin scheduling younger age groups of our seniors.”
Van Liew said people should not go to the Health Department vaccine facility without an appointment, as walk-in vaccinations are not available.
The high-contact critical workers that the Health Department is still vaccinating include public safety works, police, fire department, EMS and Sheriff’s Department; workers in kindergarten through 12th grade education including teachers, custodians, bus drivers and administrators; child care providers including licensed, in-home child care providers and center child care providers and support staff; public transit workers; U.S. Postal Service workers; Department of Motor Vehicle workers; grocery, food service and food processing workers.
The Health Department is strongly encouraging the employers in the industries to sign up their workers right away because the workers provide essential services, and also, there is an effect on COVID-19 spread in Wyandotte County. More than 20 percent of the outbreaks in Wyandotte County have been in grocery, food services and food processing settings, according to the Health Department.
BPU employees vaccinated
At the Board of Public Utilities virtual meeting Wednesday night, Dennis Dumovich, BPU director of human resources, said about 270 BPU employees have received a COVID-19 vaccine, with around 29 planning to be vaccinated in the next two days.
In all, the BPU will have a little over 300 employees vaccinated by the end of the week, he said.
“We are front-line first responders and we had to wait until our time came up,” Bill Johnson, BPU general manager, said at the meeting. “This is the time for us to go out and get vaccinated.”
The BPU will be coordinating the employees’ second vaccine shots, he said.
In the past months, the BPU had several past COVID-19 positive cases. As of today, Johnson said there are no confirmed positive cases. There are four BPU employees in quarantine, and so far, none has tested positive, he said.
He said the human resources department is working with staff, sending out awareness messages and reminding people to wear masks and maintain distance. Employees are paying attention to the safety precautions, he said.
Kansas to get increase in vaccine next week, governor says
Kansas will receive about 80,550 doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines next week, Gov. Laura Kelly said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Just recently, the state was receiving 45,000 doses a week, so this represents progress, the governor said.
Vaccine distribution still depends on federal supplies of vaccine, Gov. Kelly said. To get through Phase 2 of the vaccination plan, the state needs a significant increase of vaccines from the federal government, she said.
Gov. Kelly said the new Kansas vaccine mapping tool, now online at Kansasvaccine.gov, will help residents locate where vaccines are available in the state.
Currently, not all the vaccination sites have vaccine available to give, but the state’s Find My Vaccine website at https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/160/Find-My-Vaccine will be ready to help residents locate sites that are administering vaccines, when the vaccines become available.
The map will be updated as more vaccine providers sign up and the vaccine supplies increase, she said. It is expected to be updated every day.
To date, 198,350 Kansans have been vaccinated, which is nearly 7 percent of the state’s population, Gov. Kelly said.
The state’s decision to put prison inmates in Phase 2 has drawn some criticism, but Gov. Kelly said they are following CDC and public health guidelines to vaccinate people who live in congregate settings. At this point, Kansas is vaccinating correctional staff. When they finish with the staff, they will move on to inmates who are 65 and older, she said.
Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, said at the news conference that people need to continue wearing their masks, social distancing and small gatherings, even though the Super Bowl is coming up this weekend.
“We don’t want this to be a super-spreader,” he said.
Unscheduled topic of vaccine side effects at Wednesday’s COVID-19 KU news conference
Side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine were an unscheduled topic of discussion at the University of Kansas Health System news conference on Wednesday morning.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of KU Health System, who had received his second dose of Moderna vaccine at the news conference on Tuesday morning, called in sick on Wednesday because of side effects that included chills, fever, headache, nausea and muscle soreness.
Calling into the news conference, Dr. Stites remarked, “It is a bit of a wallop. It does pack a punch.”
Still, he does not think the side effects were very serious or contagious. He expected the symptoms to fade quickly and said he wanted to come back to work soon.
“I’m here to tell you the side effects are real, but they’re very survivable,” he said. It was far better to have side effects from the vaccine than to have COVID-19, he believes.
Preliminary data recently announced from the AstraZeneca vaccine under development has shown that people who receive the vaccine may avoid the disease and keep from spreading it to others, he said.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at the KU Health System, said his side effects were a little malaise and fatigue after the second dose of Moderna, but not fever or other symptoms.
Dr. Hawkinson said symptoms after vaccines show that the body’s immune system is starting to work as it should. People who get the vaccine should have immunity regardless of their symptoms, he said.
It is still possible to become infected with the virus from seven to 10 days after being vaccinated, so people are advised to continue wearing a mask and socially distance, according to Dr. Hawkinson.
He encouraged people not to let their guards down with the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, and to avoid large gatherings, wear masks and keep socially distanced.
Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance improvement at the KU Health System, listed symptoms that indicate it’s time to call the doctor.
Those symptoms include trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, skin rash, itching or hives, swelling of the face or tongue, dizziness or weakness. Those are symptoms that people might have as reactions to a vaccine within two hours of receiving it.
KU Health System reported the total number of COVID-19 cases there has fallen below 100 for the first time in months. Dr. Wild, looking at the number of admissions, said numbers of new COVID-19 hospitalizations here and in Kansas are remaining stable and not decreasing. People still need to be vigilant, wear masks and distance.
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 under 100 on Wednesday, Feb. 3, for the first time in months. There were a total of 98 patients, a decrease of three from Tuesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were 41 active COVID-19 patients in the hospital, an increase of three from Tuesday. Nine of those patients were in the intensive care unit, the same as Tuesday, with six on ventilators, an increase of one from Tuesday. There were another 57 patients hospitalized because of COVID-19 who were out of the acute phase, a decrease of six from Tuesday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 44 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, Feb. 3, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 17,076 cases. There was a cumulative total of 226 deaths, no change since Tuesday.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 149,507 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. There were 1,889 cumulative deaths, and 109 was the daily average of new hospitalizations.
The state of Kansas reported 278,915 COVID-19 cases statewide on Wednesday, an increase of 2,247 cases since Wednesday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were an additional 86 deaths reported, with a cumulative total of 3,895.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday night reported 26,554,216 cumulative cases in the United States, with 450,680 total deaths nationwide.
Free COVID-19 tests Thursday
Free COVID-19 testing will be available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Vibrant Health Argentine location, 1428 S. 32nd St., Kansas City, Kansas.
Tests are through Vibrant Health and the Wyandotte County Health Equity Task Force.
No appointment is needed for the test at Vibrant Health. People may be tested whether they have symptoms or not.
COVID-19 tests will be available Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Pierson Community Center parking lot, 1800 S. 55th St., Kansas City, Kansas. Hours are subject to change depending on the weather and other factors. These tests are through WellHealth Management. Appointments are required at the Pierson Community Center. For more information and to schedule a test, visit www.GoGetTested.com/Kansas.
The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4. Appointments are not needed for tests. To see if there is any change to the schedule, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
The UG Health Department recently added flu testing to the COVID-19 test at the Kmart building. Only one swab is used for the two tests. The Health Department estimates a two- to three-day wait for COVID-19 results. For the flu, the department only contacts people if it is positive.
Tests from the Health Department are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. The tests are nasopharyngeal swab tests. The Health Department no longer uses saliva tests.
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.
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.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, received his second COVID-19 shot on Tuesday from Nursing Director Thu Janes. (Photo from KU Health System)
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has launched a “Find My Vaccine” webpage for Kansas residents.
The website at https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/160/Find-My-Vaccine shows a state map with dots that represent vaccination sites. Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, said the vaccine finder page launched this week, and is part of the Kansasvaccine.gov website. He spoke during the Tuesday news conference at the University of Kansas Health System.
On the vaccination map, viewers can see dots representing vaccination sites. Dots that are blue received vaccine doses this week; dots that are yellow received no doses. Dots that are gray did not report their vaccine information.
Dr. Norman said he recognized that the 45,000 doses a week that Kansas receives is just not enough. He said the state might receive more vaccines when Johnson and Johnson, and Novavax’s vaccines come on the market.
According to Dr. Norman, about 75 percent of long-term care residents vaccinations in Kansas are complete, and about 50 percent of staff are complete. More long-term care vaccinations are expected to be completed within the next week or two, he said.
He said the state has seen improving COVID-19 case numbers. Statewide cases and hospitalizations are dropping dramatically, he said. Statewide, hospitals now have a lot of breathing room, he said. Staff are coming back and there isn’t as much of a staff crunch as previously.
Dr. Norman said strains or variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil have not been identified in Kansas yet.
He said the KDHE has increased the capacity in the state to do genomic sequencing.
This week they are installing a second platform that will double or more than double this capacity, he said. The K-State lab also is capable of doing genomic sequencing.
Because the UK, South African and Brazil strains are in other parts of the country, they will eventually find their way to Kansas, he believes.
Currently, the state is using genomic sequencing on an outbreak in a correctional facility where the virus is acting differently, he said. The virus was spreading rapidly at the Winfield facility, according to Dr. Norman. So far, they haven’t found the variants here yet.
Although the doctors thought there would be a day eventually when people could stop wearing masks, it won’t be before the end of summer or fall, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control.
“I think it’s going to be quite a few months now,” he said. “Even if you’re vaccinated, with one or two doses, you’re still going to be masking and distancing and not meeting in large groups.”
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health System, received his second dose of the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday. He said he had no side effects after the first dose except a sore shoulder.
Dr. Stites said the KU Health System will be ready to do 1,500 vaccinations a week if they can get the vaccines.
COVID-19 case numbers reported
The University of Kansas Health System reported 38 active COVID-19 patients in the hospital on Tuesday morning, a decrease of five from Monday, according to Dr. Hawkinson. Nine of the patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of one from Monday, and five of the ICU patients were on ventilators on Tuesday, the same as Monday. Another 63 patients were hospitalized because of COVID-19 but were no longer in the acute infection phase, an increase of three since Monday. There was a total 101 COVID-19 patients at the hospital, a decrease of one since Monday.
According to the doctors, increased mask wearing and vaccinations are responsible for the case numbers, which have reached lows not seen since late November.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 23 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, Feb. 2, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 17,032 cases. There was a cumulative total of 226 deaths, an increase of one since Monday.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 149,219 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. There were 1,885 cumulative deaths, and 112 was the daily average of new hospitalizations.
The state of Kansas reported 276,668 COVID-19 cases statewide on Monday, an increase of 1,983 cases since Friday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were an additional 30deaths reported, with a cumulative total of 3,809.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday night reported 26,432,150 cumulative cases in the United States, with 446,807 total deaths nationwide.
Free COVID-19 tests Wednesday
COVID-19 tests will be available Wednesday, Feb. 3, at the Pierson Community Center parking lot, 1800 S. 55th St., Kansas City, Kansas. Hours are subject to change depending on the weather and other factors. These tests are through WellHealth Management. Appointments are required. For more information and to schedule a test, visit www.GoGetTested.com/Kansas.
The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Appointments are not needed for tests. To see if there is any change to the schedule, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
The UG Health Department recently added flu testing to the COVID-19 test at the Kmart building. Only one swab is used for the two tests. The Health Department estimates a two- to three-day wait for COVID-19 results. For the flu, the department only contacts people if it is positive.
Tests from the Health Department are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. The tests are nasopharyngeal swab tests. The Health Department no longer uses saliva tests.
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.
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.
