KANSAS CITY, Mo. — 41 Action News is offering a daily recap of COVID-19 related stories from across Kansas City and the country. Check back every morning for the latest developments.
LATEST: COVID-19 case tracker for Missouri, Kansas and Kansas City
University of Kansas Health System update
Doctors with the University of Kansas Health System on Wednesday reported 76 acute COVID-19 patients in the hospital, down from the mid-80s on Tuesday. Among those patients, 36 are in the ICU and 26 are on a ventilator.
The hospital also has 74 patients in recovery phases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 patients to 150, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, infectious diseases expert.
“We are on the down trend this past week, which is a very good thing,” Hawkinson said on the health system's daily briefing.
Hawkinson and chief medical officer Dr. Steven Stites also celebrated the arrival of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The first health care workers at the hospital received the shot on Tuesday afternoon.
“Just think, if you combine masking, distancing, not gathering in large groups either in public or in private homes and the vaccine, how quickly we could get back to some semblance of normalcy,” Hawkinson said.
Also Wednesday, doctors spoke with a woman who said she used to believe that masks were unnecessary and ineffective. But after contracting COVID-19 and spending time on a ventilator, she now encourages others to wear face coverings.
KC officials encouraged by post-Thanksgiving numbers
Health experts in the Kansas City area say they were encouraged that the region didn't see a huge spike in COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving.
"What has happened in other parts of the country that have not had this messaging, they've had huge spikes and we have not, so far,” said Dr. Rex Archer with the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department.
Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said while hospitals are seeing the numbers level off, there is still more work to be done.
"We are far, far from herd immunity so we cannot let our guard down until we have a much significantly higher number of people who are vaccinated," Norman said.
Health officials continue to urge people to take precaution ahead of more holiday celebrations.
More KC hospitals receive vaccine
The distribution of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in the Kansas City metro continued on Tuesday. The University of Kansas Health System received its first shipment of the vaccine, along with Saint Luke’s Health System.
Meanwhile, nurses at Truman Medical Centers who received the vaccine on Monday said they were breathing a sigh of relief as they continue to work with COVID-19 patients.
"It's totally surreal," said Sarah Kiehl, a nurse in the intensive care unit. "It seems just as this is the day we have been talking about for a long time and to actually have it be here, really wild.”
Doctors debunk vaccine myths
Despite messages from doctors and health experts that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, there are some myths still circulating. Dr. Matt Gratton, associate chief medical officer at Truman Medical Centers, spoke with 41 Action News to dispel some of the more common myths.
Lucas calls for extension of eviction moratorium
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas on Tuesday asked the Jackson County Circuit Court to extend and expand a moratorium on evictions through the end of June 2021. Evictions were halted at the beginning of the pandemic.
Still, the moratorium did not stop people from losing their homes, and housing experts fear there could be an “avalanche” of new evictions come January.
Local advocates say there are about 50,000 households in the Kansas City metro at risk of homelessness.
Families change holiday traditions in face of COVID-19
Some families in the Kansas City metro plan to change their holiday traditions this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes 41 Action News anchor Lindsay Shively, who found a way to keep baking with her grandmother safely — but still together.
—
Find more coronavirus news and resources from 41 Action News here.
