Kansas City medical leaders warn of increased COVID hospitalizations and a new variant
COVID-19 case numbers are up and hospitalizations are rising in the Kansas City metro area, even as flu and RSV cases decrease. Nine medical experts from seven hospitals in the Kansas City area recommended vaccination, masking and other precautions in a Wednesday morning news briefing.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, said that slow adoption of the new bivalent booster shots has left patients less protected against the new variant.
“We are still dealing with essentially the same virus,” he said. “It’s really about getting those people protected.” He added that common-sense preventative measures can help slow the spread of illness.
“COVID is still here, it still kills people, and you still need to get vaccinated,” added Dr. Jennifer Schrimsher, an infectious disease specialist at Lawrence Memorial Hospital and public health officer for Douglas County, Kansas. “Masks work. We all wore masks, and we stopped the spread of disease (early in the pandemic).”
Dr. Steven Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, added that a new strain of the omicron variant, called XBB, now accounts for nearly half the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. XBB.1.5, was the fourth most prominent lineage in CDC Region 7 as of Saturday, Dec. 31. This region includes Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa.
XBB.1.5 is also the most dominant lineage in the country as of Saturday.
Here’s the latest COVID-19 data in the Kansas City area.
How are hospitals holding up?
The University of Kansas Health System is treating 51 patients with active COVID-19 infections, compared to 38 patients at the time of our last report on Dec. 13. Nine of these patients are in the ICU with three on ventilators, compared to seven ICU patients and two on ventilators in mid-December.
“It’s a fairly significant surge relative to where we have been over the last few months,” Stites said.
MARC hospitalization data has not been updated since Sunday, Dec. 18, when the greater Kansas City area was seeing an average of 73 new hospitalizations per day. This was slightly lower than the 76 per day the previous week.
“We are currently having trouble accessing updated hospital data. The hub will be updated when new data is made available,” the MARC portal reads.
What does Kansas City’s COVID-19 data look like this week?
Interruptions to data reporting schedules over the recent holidays have made it difficult to track exactly how many cases appeared in the metro area. However, data from seven local health departments indicates approximately 3,804 new cases in the past two weeks, or roughly 1,902 per week. That’s higher than the 1,705 new weekly cases in our previous data update on Dec. 13.
The metro’s seven-day average based on these numbers is around 272 new cases per day, up from 244 per day during our previous update.
Since many people are taking COVID tests at home, which aren’t publicly recorded, experts say real case totals are likely anywhere from two to five times higher than what data shows.
The state of Missouri is no longer reporting death counts at the county level. Johnson County reported eight new deaths since our last update, while Wyandotte County reported three. That brings the Kansas City metro area’s death total up to at least 4,430 since the pandemic began.
“We are at a critical moment in health care,” said Schrimsher. “Without the support of everybody from the ground up, from environmental services to physicians, we are not going to make it out of the next couple of years. At least, not unscathed.”
What are the COVID-19 risk levels in the Kansas City area?
Clay, Platte, Jackson and Wyandotte Counties remain at a “medium” community level of COVID-19. This classification means that the CDC recommends maintaining good ventilation, getting up to date on your vaccines and boosters, and wearing a mask if you are immunocompromised or indoors with someone who is.
Johnson County has dropped back to a “low” community level, meaning medical care is readily available for those sick with COVID-19. Community levels are calculated using hospital admission data and hospital bed occupancy.
All the counties that make up the Kansas City metro area remain at “high” transmission levels. This ranking means that your risk of catching COVID-19 in public is elevated due to the robust spread of the virus.
How vaccinated is the Kansas City area?
Part of Kansas City’s defense against the most active COVID-19 variants are the new bivalent booster shots, which are available at clinics around the metro. These boosters offer protection from both the original COVID-19 and several strains of the omicron variant.
The vaccine is also thought to be effective against the new XBB lineage. Experts added that the risk of side effects from the shot are extremely low— and are significantly less dangerous than complications from catching CPVID-19.
“New cardiovascular research published in Nature shows a serious heart problem (called POTS) is five times more likely after being infected with COVID than after getting the COVID vaccination,” Stites said.
Anyone who has received an initial COVID-19 vaccination, including children as young as five years old, can now get one of these new shots. They’re available at local health departments, clinics and pharmacies around the metro.
Overall vaccination rates in the metro are rising slowly, with 65.80% of the population fully vaccinated in the Kansas City region. Eastern Kansas has a higher vaccination rate, at 75.17%, than western Missouri does at 58.82%.
Do you have more questions about staying safe from COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask our Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published January 4, 2023 at 3:24 PM.
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