Kentucky Hospital Research & Education Foundation Emergency Preparedness Update for January 14, 2022
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Kentucky Hospital Research & Education Foundation
Emergency Preparedness Update
for January 14, 2022
Gov. Beshear Urges Kentuckians to Brace for Winter Weather this Weekend
(From Press Release) Gov. Andy Beshear is urging caution on the roadways across the commonwealth this
weekend following the National Weather Service’s prediction of snow for many regions of Kentucky overnight
Saturday into Sunday.
Wet, heavy snow – possibly mixed with some sleet and freezing rain – will be possible all-day Sunday, creating
an opportunity for power outages in the southern and eastern portions of the state. The Governor asked
Kentuckians to visit GOKy.Ky.gov to track hazardous road conditions across the commonwealth.
“Kentuckians should take time now to plan and prepare for the pending weather, so that we can keep as many
people as possible off the roads overnight Saturday and Sunday,” Gov. Beshear said. “If you must travel, please
drive slowly.”
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HHS renews public health emergency
(Form AHA Today) As urged by the AHA, the Department of Health and Human Services today renewed
the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration for another 90 days effective Jan. 16. The extension
will help hospitals and health systems combat COVID-19 in their communities.
-From ASPR https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/COVID19-14Jan2022.aspx
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KY COVID-19 Update
( From KYCOVID.KY.GOV) There were 13,492 new cases reported today, with 3,310 cases 18 and under. The
positivity rate is 28.61%. There are 2,126 hospitalized today with COVID, including 466 in an ICU and 226 on a
ventilator. 89.4% of the state’s ICU beds are occupied. There were 35 new deaths recorded.
Related story – Kentucky Ranks Fourth in Highest Percentage of ICU Beds in Use
(KHA COVID Update) Kentucky has the fourth most intensive care unit beds in use as of January 14, while
Wyoming has the fewest in use, according to Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) data. Overall,
83.05 percent of all U.S. ICU beds are in use as of January 14, with 31.9 percent of those beds being used for
COVID-19 patients. Full Article and State-by-State Listing
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KHA Updates Infographic Highlighting Need for Vaccination
Earlier today, KHA updated its infographic illustrating the number of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated
hospitalizations for COVID-19. This graphic (see below) is available on the KHA website,
https://www.kyha.com/kentucky-covid-19-statistics, as well as KHA’s social media feeds.
Data is provided by the Kentucky Department for Public Health on a weekly basis. For additional information,
please visit http://kycovid19.ky.gov.
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Johns Hopkins: Health Security Headlines
Extracts from January 14, 2022
Unvaccinated Pregnant People Are At Higher Risk For Covid Complications And Newborn Deaths (STAT
News) Unvaccinated pregnant people who get Covid-19 are at much higher risk for complications from the
disease and death of their babies than their vaccinated counterparts, according to a new study from Scotland.
Authors of the population-level study, published Thursday in Nature Medicine, examined data from all pregnant
people across Scotland between December 2020 and October 2021 that included information on Covid-19
vaccination status and infection. Almost all of the pregnant people who needed critical care for Covid-19 — 102
out of 104 overall — were unvaccinated. There were over 450 total fetal and newborn deaths that coincided with
Covid-19 — all among unvaccinated mothers. “Vaccination in pregnancy is the safest and most effective way for
pregnant women to protect themselves and their babies,” said Sarah Stock, an author of the study who is an
obstetrician and maternal and fetal medicine specialist at the University of Edinburgh. “This advice needs to go
out to partners and parents and grandparents and friends.”
Preparing Hospitals’ Medical Oxygen Delivery Systems for a Respiratory “Twindemic” (JAMA)
Regardless of whether another respiratory virus is surging across the US along with SARS-CoV-2—be it the
influenza virus or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)—experts again fear that a twindemic or possibly a tridemic
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could be in the making. Mirroring last year, several hospitals are reaching their tipping points, which begs the
question: can they maintain an adequate supply of medical oxygen for patients experiencing respiratory
distress? Initially, “pediatrics was spared some of the oxygen allocation issues because it was only COVID—it
wasn't RSV, it wasn't flu,” Daniel Rauch, MD, chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at Tufts Children's Hospital,
said in an interview. “Now, we're looking at all of them.”
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CDC Study Shows Flu Vaccination Prevents Severe Flu Illness in U.S. Children
A new CDC study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID)external icon shows that flu
vaccination protected children against serious flu illness even when they were infected with a flu virus that was
antigenically different from the vaccine virus. This reinforces the benefit of flu vaccination, even when circulating
flu viruses have drifted and are different from the virus used in vaccine production.
The CDC study reports that flu vaccination reduced the risk of severe flu in children by 78% against similar flu A
viruses and 47% against flu A viruses that had drifted from the vaccine virus. Further, the vaccine was 76%
effective at preventing life-threatening influenza, which included invasive mechanical ventilation, CPR, and other
severe complications including death. This study adds to evidence showing that some people who are
vaccinated still get sick, but the vaccination can decrease illness severity.
This large CDC study summarizes findings from a CDC vaccine effectiveness network that looks at how well flu
vaccines work at preventing serious flu illness in children. This network is now called the Overcoming COVID-19
Network and will investigate how well COVID-19 vaccines work to prevent COVID-19 hospitalizations in children
in addition to how well flu vaccines protect children against flu hospitalization during 2022.
Read full CDC article: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0113-flu-vaccine-children.html
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- Cybersecurity Alert-
Massive Hack Of Ukrainian Government Sites
Believed Part Of Russian "Sabotage Operations"
Related - U.S. Says Russia Is Preparing Operations to Justify Ukraine Attack
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The KHREF Emergency Preparedness Update is assembled several times a week. When events make it necessary, the Update may be sent out several times
a day to keep our hospital and the healthcare community advised on preparedness news and information. Most of this information is compiled from open
sources, and where possible reference links will be provided. There is an archive of Emergency Preparedness Updates available here. If you would like to
added or deleted, or have something you would like to contribute to a future edition of the Emergency Preparedness Update, please contact
Preparedness@kyha.com (include your current email address). The preparedness program for the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) and KHREF are
supported by US DHHS ASPR HPP funds through a contract with Kentucky Public Health.
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