Local Health officer Dr. Garold Minns told Sedgwick County Commissioners Wednesday that the public health system was unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minns says prior to the pandemic, he believes not a lot of attention was given to public health.
His statements come on the second anniversary of the first local health orders issued in response to the virus. Minns said there were a lot of unknowns and that the medical field and public officials were doing the best they could under the circumstances.
Minns says only time will tell if we are past the worst part of the pandemic. He is very encouraged by the recent trends but cautions that a new variant of the Omicron virus has emerged and that cases in China and England are going up.
He adds that we have many more tools to combat the virus, like vaccinations and anti-viral medications. With the high number of infections in January, many more people now have natural immunity.