TOPEKA — Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, says the low rate of vaccination from COVID-19 and a lack of social distancing or wearing a face covering has allowed the delta variant to bring “so much of this country to its knees.”
And this is only the beginning, he says.
Kansas health officials on Wednesday reported 62 more deaths from the virus, along with 98 hospitalizations and 3,006 new cases, in the past two days. Data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment show emergency room visits associated with COVID-19 have spiked from mid-June levels, and just 29% of intensive care unit beds are available statewide. As of Tuesday, 27 children were hospitalized for COVID-19.