Kansas City hospitals hope ‘summer surge’ from COVID is over
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - National data from the CDC shows test positivity, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations were all up for COVID-19 at the end of August. Locally, both University Health and the University of Kansas Health System told KCTV5 they have seen a recent increase in COVID-19 patients.
University Health reports their test positivity peaked recently at 25%. Last week, that number dipped down to 12%, which UH hopes is a sign of the summer surge ending.
“Most of the people, fortunately, who are contracting COVID now have relatively minor illness and people are not getting terribly ill like they did in the early days of COVID,” said Dr. Mark Steele, UH’s chief clinical officer.
The CDC recommends everyone six months or older to get vaccinated against COVID. While the vaccine will not eliminate the risk of contracting the virus, Dr. Steele says it does provide some protections.
“It’s not a guarantee that you’re not going to get COVID, but it makes it much less likely that you are going to get COVID,” said Steele. “In particular, it makes it much, much less likely that you are going to get severely ill and end up in the hospital.”
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Should you experience symptoms such as sniffles, a runny nose, or a sore throat, Steele said it’s still important to test yourself for COVID – so you don’t get someone else sick.
“It’s nice to know,” he said. “If you are infected, you can try to avoid giving the infection to others. You can isolate yourself until you’ve been fever-free for 24 hours. Even then, for a period of time, we advise people to take some precautions if you are out and about; either social distancing or considering wearing a mask.”
In late August, the FDA approved two new COVID vaccines. Doctors want the public to start thinking about the COVID vaccine like a flu shot, as they are going to be recommended yearly.
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