Russell County Health Department Releases Statement Regarding Pivot to Endemic

On March 31, Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Kansas is pivoting from an emergency pandemic response to endemic normalcy and this endemic normalcy will become the state's new normal.

As of April 1, the state of Kansas and KDHE will began treating COVID-19 in a similar manner to the flu and other common infectious diseases.

"This does not mean that COVID is over," stated Paula Bitter, Russell County Health Department Administrator and Health Officer. "COVID will be managed in a way that allows the public to maintain a more normal life. The virus still has the potential to mutate into new variants, which may cause further infections. These future cases will not be treated with a crisis level of response."

The word endemic literally means regularly found among particular people or in a certain area. In Kansas, the endemic approach will have a minimal immediate impact on how the state addresses COVID-19. KDHE will begin providing weekly updates, where previously updates were provided on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In addition, COVID testing support for private entities will begin to phase out in May. Kansas already ended its contact tracing program in January. The Russell County Health Department will no longer be issuing updates on its social media page.

While the Governor's announcement will impact certain COVID-19 policies, like data reporting, the virus still has the ability to cause new surges in case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths. Governor Kelly stated that KDHE will continue to support access to free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, especially to the most vulnerable populations.

The FDA recently approved a second booster shot for individuals aged 50 and older, as well as those with immunocompromised comorbidities on March 29. The CDC recommended the second booster following the approval by the FDA.

"As with vaccines for other diseases, the COVID vaccine is still the best way to protect yourself and others against the virus," said Bitter. "A vaccinated population also aids in preventing the virus from mutating into new and more infectious strains."

Contact the Russell County Health Department to schedule your booster vaccine or contact your primary provider.

(Information courtesy RCHD.)