New COVID wave: Kansas City has at least twice as many cases as reported, doctors say
Kansas City is experiencing a new pandemic “wave” caused by subvariants of the highly contagious omicron strain, local experts said during a news briefing on Tuesday.
Doctors at The University of Kansas Health System said that underreporting of positive COVID-19 tests means that actual case numbers are likely between two and five times higher than official data suggests. That’s because community testing events, which report results to state officials and the CDC, have largely been replaced by home testing kits.
As of last Friday, nearly 2,300 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the metro area in the past seven days. The number of new local cases has been steadily climbing for nearly two months.
Here are five things to know about the newest wave and how to stay safe.
1. The new wave is just beginning, and could last for another six to eight weeks.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease expert at the hospital, said on Tuesday that the new wave is in its early days in Kansas City.
“I think we are still in the early stages of it here in our community,” he said, adding that previous waves have lasted around six to eight weeks.
Dr. Hawkinson recommended that those at a higher risk of infection, including seniors and immunocompromised people, exercise caution in large gatherings and wear a face covering, especially indoors.
2. Community transmission rates are high.
While a CDC map showing community COVID-19 levels makes the Kansas City area appear largely safe from the virus, Dr. Amber Schmidtke noted on Tuesday morning that the agency’s community transmission data gives a more accurate picture of the current risk.
The CDC’s community transmission map shows all the counties that make up Kansas City in red, indicating “high” levels of transmission. That means that while healthcare remains accessible in the area, your risk of catching COVID-19 out in public is elevated.
“If you’re a person who’s immunocompromised, it’s a time to be very careful,” said Schmidtke, who serves as the Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of St. Mary. “It’s on all of us to do all we can to prevent transmission.”
3. Hospitalizations remain low.
Despite high levels of transmission and climbing COVID-19 case numbers, local hospitals have not yet seen a surge in patients. Currently the University of Kansas Health System is treating only six patients with active COVID-19 infections.
“Overall we are still pretty happy and optimistic that those numbers continue to be in those single digits,” said Dr. Hawkinson. He emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated and obtaining a booster shot as protection from severe disease.
“What the vaccination is really going to be important for is increasing your chances of staying out of the hospital,” he said.
4. Vaccines for young children are coming soon.
Dr. Hawkinson says that a long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine is on the way for children under the age of 5. He expects that an Emergency Use Authorization will likely be issued for such a vaccine “in the next few weeks.”
This will be a welcome relief for parents and families of young children and infants, who so far have no access to the current COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. We’ll continue to report on this vaccine as we learn more.
Children ages 5-11 can now get COVID-19 booster shots in both Missouri and Kansas.
5. Masking, testing and outdoor activities can help control the spread.
Both Hawkinson and Schmidtke advised that social gatherings are best done outdoors in the coming weeks to avoid transmission of the virus whenever possible. While it’s tempting to forego precautions like masks and social distancing, they said, the pandemic is not over yet.
“I’ve heard more and more anecdotes of people who survived two years without having been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and now they are getting infected,” said Dr. Hawkinson.
To avoid being one of these patients, he recommended wearing a mask and testing for infection if you develop any symptoms. Early testing can help you identify infection early, get access to the latest COVID treatments like Paxlovid and help keep you from infecting loved ones.
Dr. Schmidtke added that it’s never too late to start your course of vaccination against the virus.
“As awful as the omicron wave in the winter was, we are benefiting slightly from a lot of local immunity because of how many people got sick,” she said. “The question is how long that immunity is going to last.”
Do you have more questions about staying safe from COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
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