The COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Task Force, led by Ximena Garcia, heard speakers from three efforts across Kansas to address vaccination disparities in their community. (March 10, 2021, photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA A concerted effort among community stakeholders to get communities of color vaccinated against COVID-19 has driven up rates but a state task force is still seeking ways to bring them fully even with their white counterparts.
Members of the Kansas COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Task Force have pointed to meeting these communities where they are at in vaccination efforts would be key. In the Latino community, crossing the language divide has been a primary effort.
Heather Hollingsworth, Associated Press
Mission About three-quarters of Kansas counties have turned down new shipments of the coronavirus vaccine at least once over the past month and several for four straight weeks, state date shows.
“It is kind of stalling. Some people just don’t want it,” said Stacey Hileman, a nurse with the health department in rural northwest Kansas’ Decatur County, where only about 29% of the county’s 2,900 residents have received at least one vaccine dose.
Her county is among six that have rejected allocations for all four weeks. Thirty-three other counties paused shipments from the state for one week, 26 for two weeks and 16 for three weeks. Only 24 counties, mostly the larger ones such as Shawnee, Johnson and Sedgwick, haven’t turned down any shipments.
Most Kansas counties turn down vaccine over past month
HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated Press
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MISSION, Kan. (AP) About three-quarters of Kansas counties have turned down new shipments of the coronavirus vaccine at least once over the past month and several for four straight weeks, state date shows.
“It is kind of stalling. Some people just don’t want it, said Stacey Hileman, a nurse with the health department in rural northwest Kansas Decatur County, where only about 29% of the county s 2,900 residents have received at least one vaccine dose.
Her county is among six that have rejected allocations for all four weeks. Thirty-three other counties paused shipments from the state for one week, 26 for two weeks and 16 for three weeks. Only 24 counties, mostly the larger ones such as Shawnee, Johnson and Sedgwick, haven t turned down any shipments.
From USA TODAY Network and wire reports
Alabama
Tuscaloosa: Alabama football has developed a reputation for drawing big crowds to its A-Day spring football game, but even at limited capacity, the 2021 game earned a distinction. Saturday’s attendance of 47,218 is the highest at any U.S. sporting event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Yahoo! Sports. Capacity at Bryant-Denny Stadium was capped at 50%, or a little more than 50,000 fans. Alabama, which traditionally offers free admission to the event, charged $5 for tickets this year so it could control the number of people admitted and allow attendees to socially distance. It came within a few thousand tickets of selling out available seating. According to Yahoo, Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, is the lone large stadium allowing full-capacity crowds. The Texas Rangers drew 38,238 for opening day. Alabama drew an overflow crowd of 92,138 to its 2007 spring game, Nick Saban’s first at UA, and has had atten
Kansas City area has hundreds of COVID vaccine appointments. So where are the takers? Lisa Gutierrez, The Kansas City Star
Apr. 19 Update: Truman Medical Centers/University Health officials announced Monday they have 1,500 vaccine doses available. Story here.
Last week was the first time since the Jackson County Health Department began COVID-19 vaccinations that it did not have enough takers for all of its appointments.
Earlier, the University of Kansas Health System found itself with 8,000 open appointments and put out a call to get them filled.
Operation Safe, a collaborative vaccination effort in the Northland, announced last week that it had exhausted its list of eligible Missouri residents wanting a first dose, leaving the site at Cerner headquarters with more than 2,000 appointments to fill.