there is vaccine out there and available for people who have not yet been vaccinated

Above image from the New York times and if you go to their site you can hover over an individual county to see the number of new cases per day.  

Thursday morning I listened to the update from our hospital leaders who have kept us well informed about the state of COVID from a local perspective throughout the pandemic. Admittedly, I have stopped tuning in to these regular meetings as our numbers were declining. Today though, with the concerning trends we are seeing in Kansas and Missouri, I listened in. Here is what I learned.

Call this what you want, it feels like a 3rd wave may be hitting. At the beginning of June we were down to one COVID unit and 4-5 patients with active infection. Today we are back up to several COVID units, 44 inpatients with COVID and 37 of those with active infection.  All this is coming primarily from the Springfield Missouri area - someone described it as a "drop of ink that hits a bowl of water and spreads out from there".  I think that is a great visual to help understand what is happening. From Missouri it is spreading into Arkansas and Kansas. Hospitals in Springfield are overwhelmed and they are trying to set up alternate care sites in the area. Our hope in the Kansas City area is that our higher percentages of vaccinated individuals will help us get through this without returning to the way things were with the first 2 waves last year. 

In Kansas we are hearing that 90% of the new cases are the Delta variant and in Missouri it is 95% of new cases. The Delta variant is more transmissible but not necessarily more deadly. It is hitting unvaccinated populations in this time when people have been returning to "normal" life, with mask mandates being lifted in most communities. More younger people are getting sick - those in their 20's and 30's and even some individuals who have been fully vaccinated have been affected. They primarily fall into the category of people with substantial co-morbid conditions who may have had a suboptimal response to the vaccine because of that. Individuals with chronic serious illness can very easily get critically sick with any kind of additional infection, including COVID-19. These people should continue to wear masks when around groups of people both indoors and outside, as well as being cautious about who they are hanging out with. At work, we all continue to mask while inside the hospital, as well as wearing eye protection. 

There are no firm answers yet on whether boosters or 3rd doses of the vaccine will be recommended. What we do know for sure, is there is vaccine out there and available for people who have not yet been vaccinated, and they are strongly encouraged to roll up their sleeves.  

This is my perspective on what is happening in the Kansas City area, based on reliable updates from our hospital leadership. I do not claim to be an expert, I just thought it would be helpful to share what I am hearing. 

Comments

[Susan Maxwell Bjerke]

I have noted that here in AZ, we are on the uptick for cases. I cannot give up my mask...even though I've been vaccinated. People who refuse the vaccine can make me sick. (and sad)

[Emie]

Thank you Carol from the bottom of my heart. We have some neighbors who are not vaccinated (the kids shared this with us while our puppies have been playing together) but knowing what to say is difficult.

[carol]

I read something recently about how we all have to make our own mistakes. No matter if we have experienced something we would like to spare another from having to go through. I think it is part of the nature of being human.