Here’s why KC hospitals are worried about flu season — and need you to get vaccinated
If the people running Kansas City’s hospitals sound anxious and frustrated right now, here’s why: Their beds are full because of COVID-19 cases rising across the metro and now here comes seasonal flu, which could put even more people in the hospital.
They’ve gamed out worst-case scenarios and know they need more Kansas Citians to get vaccinated for both COVID and influenza or things will get more dire than they are now.
They’re scrambling hourly to find available beds for patients and nurses to take care of them. There’s even been talk, like at the beginning of the pandemic, of calling in the National Guard to help.
In any other time hospitals can handle the annual flu season. But these are not normal times, with the delta and omicron variants driving a surge of new COVID-19 cases here and nationwide.
“The difference between this year and last year is that we didn’t have the census of non-COVID patients in the hospital. We’re full of sick people who don’t have COVID as well as all the COVID patients,” said Dr. James Stewart, chief medical officer at North Kansas City Hospital.
“And if you add a bunch of flu cases on top of that, we’re going to run out of beds. We’re already very tight and it’s going to get worse.”
Stewart was among about a dozen local hospital leaders who appeared together during a recent daily health briefing sponsored by The University of Kansas Health System. One by one they detailed the crush of patients in their hospitals and pleaded for the public’s help. Some clearly wonder if people are even listening.
“If we have 30 influenza patients, add to 100 COVID ... that’s like four units of just those two infections. That scares me because I don’t know that we have that capacity,” said Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer for the KU system.
Hospital leaders already know they won’t get the break they got last winter when, relatively speaking, hardly anyone in the United States got the flu.
A growing number of states, including Kansas, are already reporting “high” to “very high” rates. Missouri’s flu activity is “moderate” at the moment.
For the week ending Dec. 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported about 4,500 flu cases and more than 1,200 hospitalizations nationwide in its most recent “FluView” surveillance report.
Last season, the CDC deemed flu activity “unusually low” in the United States and around the world, despite high levels of testing. Illnesses and hospitalizations from the flu plummeted across the country. The difference was breathtaking.
Only 1,675 flu illnesses last season compared to 39 million to 56 million from October 2019 to April 2020.
Only 224 hospitalizations last season compared to 410,000 to 740,000 the year before, according to the CDC.
Those things that people did to stay safe from COVID-19 — wearing masks, staying home, washing hands — protected them from the flu, too.
The CDC said a record number of flu vaccine doses last season — 193.8 million — also likely helped keep cases low.
“People masked up and maintained social distance last year, which is why we saw fewer flu cases,” said Dr. Raghu Adiga, infectious disease specialist and chief medical officer at Liberty Hospital.
Stewart said “we figured out we know how to prevent the flu and it’s wearing a mask because everybody was wearing a mask” last year.
But mask mandates and restrictions are going away. And local hospitals, including University Health (formerly Truman Medical Centers), that didn’t have any flu cases last season already have flu patients.
Children’s Mercy has reported that influenza vaccine rates for kids are alarmingly low this season and encourages parents to get their children vaccinated as soon as possible.
“We become snot city in the winter,” said Dr. Jennifer Watts, chief emergency management medical officer at the children’s hospital. “So we expect RSV to come back, flu to come back, omicron to come in and it will be the respiratory viral season for us, just on steroids.”
Who can get vaccinated?
Doctors say it’s safe to take the COVID-19 vaccine and the flu shot at the same time. Combination COVID-flu vaccination clinics are popping up around town, including one held recently at Ameristar Casino Hotel.
Flu vaccinations usually begin in September and October — any earlier and your protection could run out before the end of the season, which typically peaks between December and February but can run as late as May.
But as long as flu viruses are circulating, even into January or later, you should still get vaccinated, doctors say.
The flu vaccine recommendation hasn’t changed in more than a decade: Everyone 6 months and older should get the flu shot every season, with rare exception.
The vaccine is typically a shot in an arm muscle, but a nasal spray flu vaccine is also available.
Every season there are multiple influenza vaccines chosen to protect against the four flu viruses researchers deem most common for that season. Different shots are licensed for different age groups, according to the CDC, which does not recommend one over the other.
Some high-dose vaccines, for instance, contain ingredients that help create a stronger immune response in people 65 and older.
Some are not recommended for certain groups of people, depending on their health, allergies and age. Some should not be given to pregnant women or people with compromised immune systems.
Your doctor or health care provider can help you decide which one to get. The CDC also offers guidance at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/keyfacts.htm.
A bad rap this year?
There’s been buzz about recent research by University of Pennsylvania scientists suggesting that this year’s flu shot is a “major mismatch” for the dominant strain — H3N2 — circulating right now because it has picked up several mutations, moving it a bit off target from the vaccine.
This has happened before. It might not be known how effective this year’s vaccine is until the middle of the season.
Some health experts believe that mismatch could explain a large influenza outbreak between Oct. 6 and Nov. 19 on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. More than 700 people got the flu, with most experiencing mild symptoms. About 25% of them had reportedly been vaccinated against the flu.
But the Pennsylvania scientists said their findings don’t mean this year’s flu vaccine is useless because even an imperfect vaccine can keep you out of the hospital or from dying. A perfect match between the flu shot and strains circulating is rare, medical experts say.
“Studies have clearly shown that seasonal influenza vaccines consistently prevent hospitalizations and deaths even in years where there are large antigenic mismatches,” the Pennsylvania researchers wrote. “So even if this year’s flu shot doesn’t match the dominant strain, the vaccines will reduce the odds of severe disease and death.”
Scientists at the University of Michigan who studied the outbreak on their campus said the same, calling the vaccine your “best defense against flu and its potentially serious complications.”
“What we see year after year when that happens, they continue to provide that benefit of reducing your risk of hospitalization and severe disease,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control for the KU Health System.
“Go get your influenza vaccines.”
Where can I get one?
“I watch people die from influenza every year,” said Dr. Jennifer Schrimsher, infectious diseases specialist at LMH (Lawrence Memorial Hospital) in Lawrence and deputy public health officer for Douglas County.
She appeared at the KU briefing just days after her hospital saw its first combination COVID-flu case of the season, and she encouraged people to get the flu shot and to mask up.
“We had a total of four flu cases last year,” she said. “It was ridiculous, but it shows how well the masks work.
“I recommend masks in indoor public spaces and outdoor crowded public spaces. I think it would go a long (way) to preventing a lot of the hospitalizations we are seeing and will be seeing in the next two months.”
Like the COVID-19 vaccine, flu shots are readily available at pharmacies, health clinics, local health departments and from your doctor.
At some places you’ll need an appointment. The Kansas City Health Department, for instance, gives shots by appointment only. Call 816-513-6108.
Most health insurance plans, Medicare Part B and Medicaid cover the cost of the flu vaccine. If you don’t have insurance, the cost could depend on where you get it.
For instance, the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, which runs a walk-in immunization clinic in Olathe, charges $40 for the seasonal shot and $80 for the high-dose shot for older people.
The American Lung Association’s Find a Flu Shot tool at lung.org can direct you to a shot near you.
The CDC’s Vaccine Finder at vaccines.gov can also show you where to get one.
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 12:49 PM.
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