TOPEKA, Kan. – Douglas County distributed fewer than 1,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the past week, the smallest distribution the county has had since it began reporting vaccine distribution information to the Journal-World on Feb. 12.
According to data from local health organizations, 50,889 first doses and 37,516 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Douglas county as of Thursday. That’s an increase of 809 first doses and 4,532 second doses since the county last reported vaccine distribution information to the Journal-World on April 15.
Since mid-February, the number of first doses distributed each week has ranged from 2,184 to 7,585. As the Journal-World has reported, health officer Thomas Marcellino said Douglas County, like many other parts of the country, has seen demand for first doses drop significantly in the past couple of weeks.
The most recent vaccine distribution data shows that local organizations have administered 50,889 of the 62,985 first doses they have received, or around 80.8%. The vaccine data, which comes from 10 organizations, shows that the local organizations have administered 37,516 of the 43,055 second doses they have received, or around 87.1%.
With both first and second doses, Douglas County organizations had administered 88,405 total doses as of Thursday. That’s an increase of 5,341 doses since data was last reported on April 15. Douglas County is currently the most vaccinated county in Kansas against COVID-19. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s dashboard, as of Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., 463 out of every 1,000 Douglas County residents had received at least one dose.
The county is asking that anyone who has not yet scheduled a vaccine appointment or anyone who has been vaccinated at one of the clinics at the Douglas County Fairgrounds fill out a survey. The goal of the survey is to receive feedback on the clinics and identify barriers to receiving the vaccine for those who have not yet made appointments. The survey can be taken online at bit.ly/DGCovidSurvey.
In Kansas, the vaccine is currently available to people in Phases 1 through 5, meaning everyone 16 and older. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Moderna vaccine is recommended for those 18 and older. The Pfizer vaccine is recommended for those 16 and older.
Registration for all of the health department’s vaccination clinics are open to the public, and registration codes are posted at LDCHealth.org/COVIDVaccine and Douglascountyks.org/Coronavirus. The county’s final mass vaccination clinics will be April 27 and 28. In May, LMH Health will be hosting drive-thru vaccine clinics that will not require an appointment, the Journal-World reported.
The Journal-World published a list of vaccine distributors last month. The list includes AuBurn Pharmacies in Baldwin City and Eudora, CVS, Dillons, Hy-Vee, Medical Arts Pharmacy, Orchards Drug, Sigler Pharmacy, Walgreens and Walmart.
People who have questions about COVID-19 or the vaccination process can call the county’s COVID hotline at 785-864-9000 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
21 new COVID-19 cases
Douglas County reported 9,152 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday, an increase of 21 cases since Wednesday.
In Douglas County, 8,955 out of the 9,152 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, meaning 197 cases are active.
The county has averaged about nine new cases per day over the last 14 days, according to a 14-day moving average graph updated weekdays by the health department. The current average of 8.5 new cases per day is up from a low of just under seven new cases per day in mid-March and down from a recent high of 71 cases per day in early January.
Douglas County has a 14-day COVID-19 incidence rate of 98.93 per 100,000 people and a test positivity rate of 2.7%. Test positivity rates are 5.4% in Eudora, 2.7% in Lecompton and 2.6% in Lawrence and Baldwin City. Two patients at Lawrence’s hospital had COVID-19 on Friday, two fewer than Wednesday. To date, 87 Douglas County residents have died from COVID-19.
