BY LUCIE KRISMAN
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health will draft plans for future vaccination clinics following Gov. Laura Kelly’s directive Monday for the state to move into Phases 3 and 4 starting next week.
Douglas County is about 6,000 people away from completing Phase 2 of COVID-19 vaccinations, Public Health Director Dan Partridge said during a meeting Monday night.
As Phase 2 of vaccine distribution has progressed, Partridge said responses from the 65+ age group about vaccine appointment availability is decreasing and the numbers of vaccinated individuals are increasing.
The county has provided nearly 26,000 first doses of vaccine and about 15,000 second doses to date, including 2,042 vaccinations during Friday’s clinic. There were 223 active COVID cases in the county Monday.
Sonia Jordan, director of informatics at Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, said the number of people interested in vaccination has increased since Phase 2 initially opened.
“We’ve noticed as we move along that even though there may have been people who were hesitant at the beginning, they’ve become less hesitant,” Jordan said. “For instance, we should be done with K-12, but they’ve had more people express interest along the way that originally told them they weren’t interested.”
Public Health will host its next mass vaccination clinic Wednesday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. Partridge said the county’s volunteers have helped ensure the successful and efficient rollout of vaccines at each clinic. About 200 staff and volunteers helped during Friday’s clinic.
“Our volunteers show no sign of wilting,” Partridge said. “This community has been awesome in its kind of willingness to jump in and support this.”
The next phase of vaccine rollout is slated to begin Monday. It includes workers in critical sectors and individuals 16-64 with severe health risks.
Members of the 16-64 and 65+ age groups will be selected at random for vaccine appointments through Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, but critical workers will be notified through points of contact they listed on the county’s vaccine interest survey.
Reach reporter Lucie Krisman at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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