Friday was a busy day on the COVID-19 public health front at both the state and national levels.
Late in the day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved COVID-19 booster doses for all adults ages 18 and over. Interested residents need to be at least six months past their final shot if they took Moderna or Pfizer or two months beyond their Johnson & Johnson shot.
Friday’s action eliminated all other criteria for adults wanting the booster shots, and a CDC advisory panel put particular emphasis on people ages 50-plus getting the extra vaccine.
The CDC action followed similar action by the Food and Drug Administration earlier in the day.
At the state level, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced changes to its coronavirus testing strategy as the ongoing presence of the delta variant depleted the state’s testing budget faster than expected. KDHE is forewarning employers, health insurance companies and residents that they will be increasingly asked to shoulder the costs of COVID-19 testing, and the agency says it is working to gain more funding from state and federal levels to have “continuity of testing operations” through March 2022.
Free testing will still be available for residents either experiencing symptoms or exposures to COVID-19.
KDHE’s announcement came after another notable announcement: the upcoming departure of Health Secretary Lee Norman, who had served as KDHE’s department head since Kansas Governor Laura Kelly took office in 2019. Before joining the Kelly administration, Norman worked in the United States Air Force as a family physician, flight surgeon and combat medicine instructor. He also served as chief medical officer for the University of Kansas Health System and, before that, Swedish Health System in Seattle, Washington.
Current Deputy Secretary Ashley Goss is now Acting Secretary until a permanent leader is chosen. Ximena Garcia, the Senior Advisory for COVID-19 Vaccine Equity, is serving as Acting State Health Officer and Medicaid Medical Director.
