COVID-19 cases in Kansas City area shoots past 205,000 as rolling average swings upward
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City area since the beginning of the pandemic rocketed past the 205,000 mark as the seven-day rolling average of new cases swung upward, according to health data.
As of Tuesday, the seven-day average of new cases was 267 in the region encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, according to data kept by The Star.
Although the average is down compared to a month ago, it jumped up from 228 a week ago. A month ago, the average was 296.
A total of 205,389 residents in the metro have been infected with the virus since the pandemic began. That’s up 1,869 from 203,520 total cases reported a week ago and nearly 7,390 from 198,003 total cases reported a month ago.
To date, 3,177 people have died from COVID-19. That’s up 37 from 3,140 total deaths reported a week ago and up 179 from 2,998 total deaths reported a month ago.
During Tuesday’s Morning Medical Update, the University of Kansas Health System reported that it was treating 15 patients with the active virus, up one from the previous day. Four patients were in the ICU and one was on a ventilator.
Another 18 patients remained hospitalized because of COVID-19 but were out of the acute infection phase for a total of 33 COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Angela Myers, the director of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Mercy said she was excited by how many children got their shots over the weekend at vaccination clinic for kids 5 to 11 years old at Children’s Mercy. The schedule of appointments for the month of November filled up in 15 minutes.
Side effects have been very mild in kids, mostly just sore arms, she said.
“It’s a fallacy to think that children aren’t affected by COVID,” Myers said. “They are, and children do die.”
Many parents still cling to the belief that there’s not enough evidence the vaccine is safe for kids. However, more than 3,000 children took part in the trials, which she said is a large number compared to most trials that involve only a couple hundred people. Data also proves that the vaccine is safe and effective.
Meyers also express concerns about Blue Valley and Olathe school districts dropping the mask mandates for high schoolers in a few week, saying she believes there will be a rise in cases in December as a result.
“It’s an experiment and unfortunately, it’s an experiment with our kids,” she said.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, said he hopes that at some point in the future, the politicizing of the vaccine comes to an end.
“It’s been tested more than any other vaccine in history,” Stites said. “If you really understand and know medicine, you would know that this is probably the best researched and best tested medication of all time.”
On Tuesday, Missouri reported that it has identified 710,131 infections to date, including 12,325 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 6.9%.
About 49.8% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated.
Across state lines, Kansas has reported 442,232 infections to date, including 6,534 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 7.7%.
Across the state, 47.9% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Across the country, more than 46.6 million people have contracted COVID-19 and 756,454 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
