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Local COVID-19 cases rise as flu season hits harder than last year

COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City area are on the rise, with hospitalizations “creeping up,” according to chief medical officers at five local hospital systems.

The University of Kansas Health System is treating 38 patients with active COVID-19 infections as of Tuesday morning. Eleven of these patients are in the ICU, with seven on ventilators. Twenty-two more patients are recovering from COVID-19. That’s down just slightly from last week’s count of 41 cases.

As of Tuesday, the rolling average of new COVID-19 cases across the metro area is around 732 per day over seven days, according to data tracked by the Star. That’s higher than last week’s average of 443, and higher than any 7-day average in the past 5 weeks. Nineteen people have died from COVID-19 in Kansas City in the past week, bringing the total up to 3,257 since the pandemic began.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the Kansas City area have not yet reached the levels of last year’s winter peak, but doctors predict that they soon might.

“I think this will be the highest we’ve ever seen with COVID,” said Dr. Raghu Adiga, the chief medical officer of Liberty Hospital in Liberty. He added that many of the COVID-19 patients in his hospital are unvaccinated, an observation the other experts echoed.

“We are seeing a rapid rise in our COVID numbers… (and) the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated or not completely vaccinated,” said Dr. Lisa Hays, chief medical officer of AdventHealth in Shawnee.

Flu cases are also on the rise around the country— particularly among youth ages five to 24. Last year’s six-month flu season saw around 1,800 cases nationally. This year, cases reached double that number in just eight weeks. Doctors say that this is likely caused by relaxed safety measures, more indoor gatherings as the weather turns cold, and a decrease in mask wearing

“Last year we had virtually no flu because of the masking. This year, given that the masks have gone away from public places, we do anticipate there’s going to be higher flu in areas where there is no masking going on,” Adiga added.

While flu cases are unlikely to contribute significantly to hospitalization numbers, doctors warn that hospitals are beginning to feel the strain of increased COVID-19 cases caused by the widespread Delta variant.

“We had 25 people this weekend waiting for beds in our emergency room. That’s a problem,” said Dr. Steven Stites, chief medical officer of the University of Kansas Health System. “Some people are vaccine-hesitant— but COVID isn’t hesitant.”

He and the other doctors encouraged the public to get vaccinated and obtain booster shots if they haven’t already.

“You still have time to create that immunity, whether it’s to influenza or to COVID-19,” added Stites’ colleague Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Kansas Health System.

Vaccinations and booster shots are available for free at clinics around the Kansas City area.

Do you have more questions about staying safe from COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask our Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com or fill out the form below.