Kansas City-area hospitalizations up slightly as weekly COVID-19 cases drop below 1,000

COVID-19 case numbers are continuing to fall in the Kansas City area while hospitalizations rose slightly in the past week, local data shows.

The week’s total number of cases reported in the metro fell below 1,000 for the first time since April. However, reported case numbers likely show only a fraction of the true case totals.

“We’ve heard about the pandemic being ‘over,’ and really what that means is that the virus is no longer dictating what you’re doing as you go about your daily lives,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System in a Friday news briefing.

“Hopefully, we do get more people taking up the booster and the vaccine so that we can reduce your risk of going to the hospital.” He added that this step is especially important for adults in their 60’s and older.

How vaccinated is the Kansas City area?

Part of our defense against the most active COVID-19 variants are the new bivalent booster shots that are available at clinics around the metro. These boosters offer protection from both the original COVID-19 and several strains of the omicron variant.

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 64.29% of the population fully vaccinated in the Kansas City region. Eastern Kansas has a higher vaccination rate, at 73.17%, than western Missouri does at 57.67%.

What does Kansas City’s COVID-19 data look like this week?

Officials reported a total of 942 new cases in the Kansas City area since last week. That’s lower than last week’s total of 1,095 new cases. That means the metro saw around 135 cases per day in the past week, up from around 156 per day the previous week.

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 three new deaths this past week and Wyandotte County reported two. That brings the Kansas City metro area’s death total up to at least 4,402 since the pandemic began.

How are hospitals holding up?

The University of Kansas Health System is treating 18 patients with active COVID-19 infections, down from 28 at this time last week. One of these patients is in the ICU but is not on a ventilator, down from three ICU patients with one on a ventilator last week.

“We’ve seen that number (of COVID-19 patients) drop down from the low 30’s to 18 now in the last week or so,” Hawkinson said. “Circulation in the community is still fairly high, but it is decreasing and that’s always good news.”

MARC hospitalization data shows that the greater Kansas City area is now seeing an average of 63 new hospitalizations per day, up slightly from 59 a week ago. Hospitalization trends usually follow several weeks behind case numbers, although current case numbers may not accurately reflect the full extent of the virus due to home testing.

What are the COVID-19 risk levels in the Kansas City area?

Clay, Platte, Jackson counties have all remained at a “low” community level of COVID-19 since last week when they joined Johnson County at this ranking. This indicates the medical care is readily available for COVID-19 patients.

Wyandotte County is still at a “medium” community level. That means 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.

All the counties that make up the Kansas City metro area remain at “high” transmission levels, except for Wyandotte County, which lowered to “substantial” this week. Both these rankings mean that your risk of catching COVID-19 in public is still elevated, even though medical care may be easier to access than before.

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