Staff Report
photo by: Associated Press
A bottle of Moderna s COVID-19 vaccine is seen on a table before Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly received an injection Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Douglas County now has a date for Phase II COVID vaccinations to begin, but it also has far more people eager to get the vaccine than it has doses currently.
That became evident early Wednesday evening. Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health announced a little after 6 p.m. Wednesday that it would hold its first mass vaccination event for people 65 and older on Jan. 29 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. But health leaders said they expected to only have 500 doses of the vaccine available for the appointment-only vaccination clinic.
This chart shows Kansas vaccination phases by population.
Phase 2 of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s five-phase COVID-19 vaccination plan is expected to begin later this month or in February, and more details have been released about who will be eligible to receive a shot in this phase.
As the Journal-World has reported, Phase 1, which began in mid-December, includes health care workers, residents in long-term care facilities and workers critical to pandemic response continuity. Phase 2 will include people ages 65 and older, high-contact critical workers and those living in congregate settings. A KDHE document called the Vaccine Prioritization Plan defines high-contact critical workers and examples of congregate settings.
photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World Illustration
As the second week of school since winter break comes to a close, cases for the coronavirus in Douglas County continue to rise and have led to an upgrade in Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health’s school guidance recommendation.
The health department announced Thursday it had upgraded its recommendation to schools to its orange tier. The orange tier calls for schools to continue to use hybrid in-person learning, but prohibit “high risk” activities and athletics. The color-coded guidance is meant to help county school districts navigate reopening schools and conducting activities as the pandemic continues during the school year.
photo by: Contributed photo
Shannon Fletcher, a respiratory therapist at LMH Health, was the first person to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at Lawrence s hospital on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.
A leader at Lawrence’s hospital expressed disappointment in a local health center’s decision not to transfer its incoming vaccine doses to LMH Health, a choice the leader called a “wrinkle” in the vaccine distribution process.
Heartland Community Health Center announced Friday morning that it will receive 1,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine when it becomes available and that the health center plans to administer the vaccines itself, in accordance with Douglas County’s tiered strategy.
photo by: AP File Photo
In this May 4, 2020, photo provided by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the first patient enrolled in Pfizer s COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine clinical trial at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, receives an injection.
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in Kansas, but much is still unknown about the first phase of the distribution process in Douglas County.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the vaccine for emergency use on Friday, and some health care workers in Wichita began receiving shots on Monday, according to The Associated Press. But it is unknown exactly when the vaccine will arrive at Lawrence’s hospital, as well as how many doses the county will receive, LMH Health spokeswoman Amy Northrop said. And while front-line health care workers and long-term care residents are first in line for the vaccine, it’s still unclear where other residents will fall on the list of priorities.