Douglas County residents receive their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a public health clinic Friday hosted by LMH Health and Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.
All Kansans above the age of 16 will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine starting Monday.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly moved the state to the final phase of its vaccine distribution plan Friday due to an increase in federal supply.
“With the anticipated increase in supply from the federal government, we must get every dose of vaccine into arms quickly,” Kelly said in a news release. “I strongly encourage every Kansan to get the COVID-19 vaccine so we can get back to school, back to work, and back to normal.”
Kansans can find a local vaccine provider using https://vaccinefinder.org/.
A number of states have similarly made all adults eligible for the vaccine. Those states include Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Utah and West Virginia.
Roughly 35% of adults in Kansas have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Local health officials have administered about 35,100 first shots of the vaccine, and roughly 21,000 people have received their second shot in Douglas County.
As vaccines have rolled out and federal supply has increased, local health providers have reported less of a demand, according to a news release from the governor’s office. Kelly opened up the vaccine to all Kansans to ensure no vaccines would go to waste.
Douglas County health officials are encouraging people to continue to wear masks and social distance as vaccines roll out, especially because the UK variant was recently detected inside the county.
Health officials announced Thursday the new UK variant had entered the county after an individual traveled. It’s one of the 30 known cases of the UK variant throughout the state.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention is closely monitoring these cases because they’re earmarked as “variants of concern.” The variants have different characteristics that can significantly affect public health.
“With what we are seeing with the virus in other parts of the country right now, we don’t want to let our guards down so that we can continue to see the success we have had in Douglas County at keeping our numbers down,” said Jennifer Schrimsher, an infectious disease specialist from Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.
Local health officer Thomas Marcellino encouraged individuals to wear masks that fit snugly around the mouth and nose and have multiple layers of fabric. Alternatively, he also encouraged layering up thinner masks with a cloth mask to improve the fit around the face.
“We would also encourage all eligible Douglas County residents to get vaccinated when it’s their turn as the approved vaccines have shown to provide protection against hospitalizations and death due to the virus,” Marcellino said.
Douglas County residents can fill out a survey to indicate they’re interested in receiving the vaccine via https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/9a4d2dfaf7bc470bb8e159303c53130b. Local health authorities will contact the individual once they’re eligible to receive a vaccine.
Reach reporter Nicole Asbury at [email protected].
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