TOPEKA, Kan. –  Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced last week that Kansas will follow the CDC’s latest guidance regarding individuals who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

“Effective immediately, Kansas will adopt the CDC’s latest guidance that fully-vaccinated Kansans are no longer required to wear masks indoors or outdoors or physically distance, except in circumstances such as those required by businesses, public transportation, or health care facilities,” Kelly said. “Should fully-vaccinated Kansans feel more comfortable wearing a mask, they are welcome to continue doing so.”

Also announced last week was that due to increasing evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for young people, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will now be available to those ages 12 and older in Kansas.

“Health experts’ thorough, deliberate review process demonstrates that safety continues to be the number one priority in vaccine approval – and my administration is confident that opening the vaccine to young Kansans is the right move,” Kelly said. “I encourage all eligible Kansans to roll up their sleeves and do their part to ensure we can continue getting back to work, back to school, and back to normal.”

“This is an incredible step forward in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary. “We are now able to protect our younger populations against this deadly disease.”

The announcements follow last week’s expansion of the emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. The FSA issued the original emergency use authorization Dec. 11, 2020, for individuals ages 16 and older. Kansas providers should now begin opening their vaccine supply to people age 12 or older. Those under 18 need written parental consent for vaccination.

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced that Kansas will pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine following an announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration this morning. There are reports of six recipients in the United States who developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within about two weeks of vaccination. No known cases have been reported in Kansas to date.

“Just as important as getting vaccines into arms is making sure those vaccines are safe,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “While this appears to have affected six people in the nearly seven million doses administered, out of an abundance of caution, Kansas will suspend Johnson & Johnson until the CDC and FDA clear it for use again. In the meantime, we anticipate our shipments of Pfizer and Moderna to continue and we will build on the one-third of Kansans who have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.”

The federal government will further study links between the vaccine and the rare blood clotting disorder. An emergency meeting of the CDC’s advisory committee has been scheduled for Wednesday.

KDHE asks providers with Johnson & Johnson vaccine to pause administration of the vaccine immediately and to place the supply into storage while material is reviewed. After KDHE has reviewed the findings from the federal government, further guidance will be given to providers on next steps.

Those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should contact their health care provider if they have any symptoms and report any illness to the VAERS Reporting System, vaers.hhs.gov.

The week of April 19, 2021, Kansas is anticipated to receive the following doses: 39,780 Pfizer Prime, 38,610 Pfizer Boost, 29,000 Moderna Prime, 27,800 Moderna Boost.

Joint statement from CDC and FDA

As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.

CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.

TOPEKA, Kan. – In conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance issued Monday for those who have been vaccinated, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is issuing similar guidance in Kansas.

Two weeks after Kansans receive their completed vaccination (two weeks after the second dose for Pfizer and Moderna, two weeks after the single dose for Johnson & Johnson), Kansans may begin to gather in their private homes with other fully vaccinated people, in small groups, without masks or social distancing.

The guidance also allows for vaccinated people to gather in private homes with unvaccinated people so long as the unvaccinated people are from a single household and are at low risk for developing severe disease.

“These changes are an important step in moving forward,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary. “This will allow grandparents to socialize with families, friends and neighbors to gather.”

While private home guidance has changed for those who are fully vaccinated, public health measures in public still apply to everyone, including those vaccinated. It is advised to:

• Wear a mask.
• Stay at least 6 feet away from others.
• Avoid crowds.
• Avoid poorly ventilated spaces.
• Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.

“Thank you for continuing to keep your fellow Kansans safe,” Norman said.

TOPEKA, Kan. – A CDC emerging variant of COVID-19, which has been found in 33 U.S. states, was identified in Kansas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. A Kansas resident in Ellis County was found to have the United Kingdom, or UK, variant known as B.1.1.7. A case investigation is being conducted to determine how the person became infected with this particular variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as if others may have been exposed. No further details are being released concerning the patient, including demographics.

The variant was determined through the whole genome sequencing (WGS) conducted through the laboratories at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

“This finding does not change our public health recommendations,” said Dr. Norman, KDHE Secretary. “We continue to encourage people to take the appropriate precautions: follow isolation and quarantine recommendations, practice physical distancing, wearing masks, good hygiene, staying home if ill and getting the vaccine if you are able to, once the supply is sufficient.”

The variant was first reported in the U.S. at the end of December 2020. Evidence from the U.K. indicates this variant spreads much more quickly through the population and, given that fact, may rapidly increase the number of hospitalizations and deaths. More studies are needed to confirm this finding.

To help Kansans protect their families and household members, the state is working to provide safe housing options for those affected by COVID-19. Non-congregate sheltering is an option for individuals in multiple communities in the state. Sheltering is available for those who cannot safely isolate or quarantine in their homes and have tested positive for COVID-19, those who have been exposed to someone who has tested positive, and those living and working in at-risk or congregate settings.

“The most effective way to slow the spread of the virus is to isolate or quarantine yourself away from others in your household,” said Devan Tucking, human services branch director, Kansas Division of Emergency Management. “These non-congregate shelter options are being provided because we know it is not always possible to isolate or quarantine someone in a single-family residence where people must share a kitchen, a bathroom, laundry room and other spaces.”

Non-congregate shelters are provided in coordination with the Kansas Department of Children and Families, Kansas Division of Emergency Management and local emergency management and public health departments.

At this time shelters are located in the following locations:

• Ford County, Dodge City
• Johnson County, Gardner
• Leavenworth County, Lansing
• Lyon County, Emporia
• Saline County, Saline
• Seward County, Liberal
• Wyandotte County, Kansas City

The shelter provides free housing, three meals a day and snacks, laundry service, and a cleaning service to provide a safe shelter to avoid exposing households to the COVID-19 virus and help stop the spread of the virus.

Around 100 new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in Osage County in the last week, as Kansas reports record numbers of confirmed cases daily across the state.

As reported by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment today, Nov. 13, 2020, Osage County now has had 306 confirmed cases since the pandemic began. The Osage County Health Department confirmed that five people in Osage County have died from the virus as of Nov. 5, and that day marked 182 cases tallied in the county, including 25 active positive cases and 157 recovered cases. KDHE reported Osage County’s total cases at 206 on Nov. 5, with 100 new cases diagnosed in the last week.

OCHD reported Nov. 10 that the department would not be issuing case counts for the county this week due to being “very busy and short staffed,” while KDHE reported 25 new cases that day – the highest number of diagnosed cases in one day for the county since the pandemic began in March. Last month, the most new cases recorded in a day were six on Oct. 17; the record was broken on Nov. 3 with seven cases recorded; then Nov. 5, 10 cases; Nov. 10, 25 cases; Nov. 11, 16 cases; and yesterday recorded a dozen more.

Osage County is under no health orders regarding COVID-19, as the Osage County commissioners took action in July to reject Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to mandate mask wearing in public spaces statewide and other measures. The Osage County Board of Health’s reasoning for rejecting the governor’s mandates was the few COVID-19 cases in Osage County at the time and little evidence of community spread of the disease, and that enforcement of the mandate would be difficult.

According to state data, Osage County’s coronavirus infection rate remains lower than the state average, with Osage County at 19.19 cases per thousand people, and the state at 39.65 cases per thousand.

When the pandemic began, county officials implemented temperature screening of visitors and employees at the Osage County Courthouse, but that precaution was later abandoned. Several schools or activities have been shut down for extended periods for quarantine purposes since the school year began. In July, the Osage County Senior Center was closed due to being a possible cluster site, but it has since reopened. No clusters have been publicly reported in Osage County. In October, the Osage County Jail reported that a person in custody had tested positive for the virus, but no other jail residents or staff were reported as infected.

Oct. 13, the health department reported the first death in the county from the virus; the person had died in September. Since then four more Osage County deaths have been attributed to COVID-19. One month ago, OCHD reported there had been a total of 124 positive cases recorded in the county since the pandemic began. As of Nov. 5 in Osage County, 2,633 negative tests results had been recorded.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office reported this afternoon in a social media post there has been one confirmed case of COVID-19 in a resident of the Osage County Jail.

The post said testing for all residents and staff is scheduled to begin tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.

The Osage County Jail has been in consultation with officials from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment on next steps to address these circumstances. As a result of the consultation with KDHE, the following steps were implemented:

• The patient with the confirmed case was previously quarantined and will remain quarantined for the next 14 days and will be tested weekly.
• KDHE will test staff and inmates weekly.
• Osage County will remain diligent in monitoring other staff and residents for symptoms.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office reported it is working closely with KDHE, Osage County Health Department, and Osage County Emergency Management to make sure Osage County Jail facility remains safe for its employees and residents.

TOPEKA, Kan. – Gov. Laura Kelly today, after receiving her flu shot from a Walgreens representative, emphasized that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now more important than ever for all Kansans to get a flu shot.

“Increased flu-related visits to the hospital present challenges for our health care system every year – but will be particularly difficult to cope with while we are in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic,” Kelly said. “I encourage all Kansans to receive a flu shot and protect the health and safety of our communities, while also decreasing the burden on our health care workers, freeing them up to treat patients who have contracted COVID-19.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 4.4 million influenza illnesses during the 2018-2019 flu season, and stopped 3,500 flu-related deaths.

Kelly also expressed her appreciation for all frontline workers issuing flu shots this year.