Kansas COVID-19 Update, Week 61

 The news is good this week. We seem to be on a steady decline of new COVID cases, both statewide and in the KC area. The decline is not as fast as the Delta upswing was, but if we can sustain it, we should be in good shape in about a month. 

The Good: The infection reproduction rate, Rt, fell from 0.93 to 0.85 this week. Every infection is causing less than one new infection, which is how we choke the virus into submission. 

The Bad: Hospital ICU capacity, while not as dire as it was a couple weeks ago, remains stubbornly tight. Only 14% of ICU beds were available in the Kansas City area this week (16% on the Missouri side and 11% on the Kansas side). Wichita's ICUs are still overcapacity, and they're one COVID patient higher this week (up from 78 to 79). It's going to be several more weeks before Wichita is at a comfortable ICU level. Total COVID hospitalizations fell there for the first time in almost three months, but only from 206 to 196. Ninety percent of Sedgwick County's COVID hospitalizations are in unvaccinated patients. Logically, that means there would be about 175 fewer people in hospital beds if everybody had gotten their COVID shots. That would certainly help.

The Ugly: Test positivity only fell from 29.4% to 27.9% this week, according to Johns Hopkins. Right direction, but still way too high and not going down fast enough. It's fifth-worst in the country, behind Alabama, Idaho, Iowa and Florida. 

Bonus: Kansas' premier anti-vaccine group held its annual rally/fundraiser last week. Read more disturbing details here.