Kansas City,
07
January
2022
|
15:13 PM
America/Chicago

Kansas City Star: Here's why KC hospitals are worried about flu season and need you to get vaccinated

COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic

By Lisa Gutierrez

If the people running Kansas City’s hospitals sound anxious and frustrated right now, here’s why: Their beds are full because of COVID-19 cases rising across the metro and now here comes seasonal flu, which could put even more people in the hospital. 

They’ve gamed out worst-case scenarios and know they need more Kansas Citians to get vaccinated for both COVID and influenza or things will get more dire than they are now. 

They’re scrambling hourly to find available beds for patients and nurses to take care of them. There’s even been talk, like at the beginning of the pandemic, of calling in the National Guard to help.

Children’s Mercy has reported that influenza vaccine rates for kids are alarmingly low this season and encourages parents to get their children vaccinated as soon as possible.

“We become snot city in the winter,” said Dr. Jennifer Watts, chief emergency management medical officer at the children’s hospital. “So we expect RSV to come back, flu to come back, omicron to come in and it will be the respiratory viral season for us, just on steroids.”

 

Read the full article via The Kansas City Star

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