The number of COVID patients at The University of Kansas Health System is back up today. 60 with the active virus are being treated, up from 58 yesterday, and just nine of those 60 are fully vaccinated. 22 patients are in the ICU, down from 25 yesterday. 14 are on ventilators, up from 13 yesterday. 47 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 38 yesterday. That’s a total of 107 patients, way up from 96 yesterday. HaysMed has 12 patients, the same as yesterday.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, we know COVID can impact us and our loved ones. But what about our pets? Two Kansas State University virology and wildlife specialists weighed in on COVID in pets and the deer population and shared warnings about the animal medication ivermectin being used off label by humans. Plus, word of an “incredibly concerning” blood supply emergency in the Metro, with just a two or three-day supply. That’s a problem going into a long holiday weekend when typically, trauma cases drive the need for blood much higher than normal. Call the Community Blood Center at 877-468-6844 or sign up at savealifenow.org if you can donate.
Dr. Juergen Richt is director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases at Kansas State University. He discussed the continued interest in ivermectin, an anti-heartworm medicine for livestock, as a treatment for COVID. He says in the lab, it’s not very effective. In human clinical trials of the drug, the jury is still out. Some studies show it’s not working well while others show it’s maybe working. But he says, “Using a drug which is formulated for horses and cattle or other animals and using it as a human is not a very smart thing to do.” As for wildlife, studies have shown of the 30 million white tail deer in the U.S. many are susceptible to COVID and are picking it up from other animals. The good news, he says, is there’s no evidence people can get COVID from eating the meat of an infected deer, but hunters and meat processers should be careful when handling internal organs where the virus resides. He also wants to reassure everyone that there is no reported case of a human infection from a companion animal such as a dog or a cat, and no need to have your pets vaccinated. He noted that the Kansas City Zoo is vaccinating its cats and primates since animals can transmit the virus to each other. The news is also good about ticks. He says there’s no evidence they carry the virus, though he says houseflies can pick up the virus when feeding on saliva. He says it can stay viable for 24 hours and the flies can bring it to another spot, thought he flies themselves don’t transmit the virus. He also says birds have shown resistance to COVID, so you don’t need to worry about Polly, your parakeet. His best advice is get a vaccine which has shown incredible effectiveness against COVID and not to risk your health on an animal medication which could be highly toxic and has shown no real effectiveness.
Dr. Stephen Higgs is associate vice president for Research and Director of the Bio-security Research Institute at Kansas State University. He described his facility, the only one in the world, which is high-containment and enables safe and secure research on a whole variety of pathogens. He says it’s only one step below an Ebola facility. He’s done extensive research on mosquitoes and whether they can transmit COVID and found they can not. He noted that about 60 percent of new pathogens and viruses that affect humans commonly come from animals. He also described some of the other research his team is working on, from simulated meat processing and packaging to make that industry safer to looking at African Swine Fever, which is in the Dominican Republic and what he calls “an incredible potential threat to our agricultural system.”
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, thinks the Northland parents suing the school district so their kids don’t have to wear masks are wrong with their arguments. He says evidence shows COVID does affect children, often with some of the same long haul symptoms as adults. They are also at risk of multi system inflammatory disorder. He says the argument that masks are not effective and can harm children is completely false as well. He says it’s best to have two or three masks for your kids so you can keep them clean and always have a fresh one available after a day or two. He stresses the fit is more important than material. He says if doctors are prescribing ivermectin to patients with COVID, it’s time to find a new doctor. While he has heard of the new C 1-2 variant, it’s not very widespread like Delta. He reminded us that variants will continue to emerge indefinitely. He advised an anxious parent not to be too worried if their child was outside riding bikes for five minutes with a neighbor who later tested positive.

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