Hope for Saline County arrived before Christmas, in liquid form, containing the potion to immunize humans from COVID-19.
The long-awaited vaccines have finally begun trickling into Kansas, and as of Tuesday afternoon, 938 people in Salina had received the first of two injections that aim to stem the tide of the global pandemic.
Early on, the distribution process has been a nightmare for officials on the front lines in Saline County. Half a year of more misery may follow before the vaccines are available to the general public.
Meanwhile, local officials say, the pipeline of vaccine and information is loaded with rough tributaries.
Their turn: Here s when nursing homes in Missouri and Kansas will get COVID vaccine Lisa Gutierrez, The Kansas City Star
Dec. 21 Residents and staff at long-term care facilities in Kansas and Missouri facilities will begin getting the COVID-19 vaccine next week, pharmacy officials announced Monday.
Through a national pharmacy program, nursing homes chose last month to have either CVS or Walgreens come into their buildings and administer the shots.
On Monday, CVS was set to begin the process of administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at more than 40,000 long-term care facilities across the country. A second phase, beginning Dec. 28, will bring the vaccine to facilities in Kansas and Missouri, a company spokesman said.
Kansas, Missouri to receive fewer doses of vaccine in next shipment
2007 Getty Images
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HIALEAH, FL - AUGUST 08: Barbara Dale, a school nurse, prepares an immunization needle for a child August 8, 2007 in Hialeah, Florida. The free immunization is part of the Miami-Dade County Health Department s program to help children heading back to school. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
and last updated 2020-12-17 17:04:36-05
KANSAS CITY, Mo. â Both Kansas and Missouri will receive fewer doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the next shipment than originally anticipated.
A spokesperson with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment told 41 Action News the state will now receive 17,550 vaccines instead of 29,000 next week.
Kansas to receive fewer COVID-19 vaccine doses than expected
Kansas will likely be getting almost 37% fewer Pfizer vaccine doses than initially promised in its next shipment in the next week, a spokesperson from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said.
Instead of the approximately 28,000 doses from Pfizer the state said it would receive, that number has dropped to 17,550 doses.
The other type of vaccine, from Moderna, is still expected to arrive with 49,000 doses next week. This will be the first shipment from Moderna.
The reduced number of already scarce vaccine doses is likely to further limit the reach of vaccinations. One will need two, not one, doses of the vaccine, with the second dose three to four weeks after the first.