Public health officials discuss COVID-19 booster shots and the child mask mandate Monday.
Local public health officials discussed plans for additional Pfizer booster shots and a recommendation to continue a mask mandate for children during a meeting Monday.
The Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health board meeting came just days after an FDA advisory panel recommended a booster Pfizer dose for those ages 65 and older or at high risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms.
A CDC committee still needs to vote on the recommendation this week. However, a booster of the Pfizer vaccine could be available as soon as next Wednesday for Douglas County residents who received their last shot more than six months ago and qualify under CDC criteria.
Sonia Jordan, director of informatics, said there are plans to set up a drive-thru vaccine clinic on Sept. 29 at the LMH Health parking lot. A similar drive-thru clinic was used in the spring for COVID-19 shots.
“If you are eligible for a dose, our intention is to have it available for you there,” Jordan said in a follow-up interview.
She said a Moderna option is being worked out. Federal recommendations for the Johnson and Johnson shot are still in process after the company announced Tuesday that it also recommends a booster.
The recent Pfizer booster campaign is separate from the already available third-dose program of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for severely immunocompromised persons.
Additionally, local public health officials will recommend Wednesday during the Douglas County Commission meeting that the mask mandate for children ages 2 to 11 be extended.
This extension would carry the requirement until the end of this school semester.
Support for the masking extension was influenced by the combination of continued high levels of transmission, and the lack of a vaccine approved for that population, said Dan Partridge, director of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.
The county reported 771 active COVID-19 cases Monday with 17 patients at LMH Health. Of those, 15 are labeled as active and two as recovering, according to a report from the hospital.
Of those 17 patients, 76 percent are either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown.
From June 15 and Sept. 19, 83 percent of COVID in-patients were not fully vaccinated compared to 17 percent who were, the report said.
Reach reporter Chihiro Kai at [email protected].
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