Gov. Laura Kelly will announce on Thursday that the state will move to Phase 2 of the Kansas COVID-19 vaccination plan.
According to a news release from the governor’s office, all those ages 65 and older, those in eligible congregate settings and all high-contact critical workers now will be prioritized for vaccination. These groups are in addition to anyone from Phase 1 who has not been vaccinated yet.
“After moving quickly to vaccinate close to 130,000 frontline health care workers and Kansas seniors, my administration has worked with local health departments and providers to prepare to move Kansas into Phase 2,” Gov. Laura Kelly said in the news release. “While it’s important to remember that the rate of vaccinations will be dependent on the amount we receive from the federal government, we use every tool available to make vaccine delivery transparent, efficient, and fast in order to reach as many Kansans as possible.”
Approximately 1 million Kansans are in Phase 2 but the next weekly supply of vaccine from the federal government contains approximately 45,000 new first doses so not everyone in Phase 2 will be able to receive their vaccine immediately. Each county, through local health departments, will decide how their limited supply of the doses will be allocated by population groups.
A vaccine dashboard is available at www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data that includes key metrics that will be updated three times a week. In addition to the dashboard, in the coming weeks, the state of Kansas will launch a “Find my Vaccine” mapping tool, so Kansans can locate sites that are offering vaccine administration in their communities.
Gov. Kelly said she and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment are asking for residents’ patience as federal vaccine supply remains low. Those in prioritized populations should contact their local health departments to learn more about when they will begin to inoculate Phase 2 populations and how they will prioritize within that group or anyone remaining in Phase 1 who has not received the vaccine.
In Wyandotte County, the latest information about the Health Department’s plans for vaccines is at https://wyandotteonline.com/more-than-3800-covid-19-vaccinations-given-out-at-ug-health-department-site/.
Wyandotte County residents who are interested in getting vaccinated and want to receive updates on when vaccines are available, may visit wycokck.org/COVID-19 and click on the “Vaccine Interest Form” button to fill out the Health Department’s survey. Anyone who needs assistance filling out the form may call 3-1-1 and a Unified Government operator will assist them.
To assist vaccine distribution efforts, Gov. Kelly also announced the appointment of Marci Nielsen to chief adviser for COVID-19 coordination and Seth Konkel to the role of special advisor for COVID-19 vaccination.
“With significant experience in public health and operations between them, Marci and Seth will be valuable sources of support to my team and the team at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment as vaccine supply increases,” Gov. Kelly said. “I am pleased to have them on board.”
Phase 2 guidelines:
• Persons aged 65 and older
• High-contact critical workers necessary to maintain systems, assets, and activities that are vital to the state security, the economy or public health, or who interact with large numbers of contacts and job-related COVID-19 exposure. COVID-19 risk is associated with the likelihood of infecting oneself or spreading the virus. Factors that increase risk include proximity, type of contact, duration of contacts and challenges to implement protective measures. This includes:
o Firefighters, police officers, first responders, and correction officers
o Grocery store workers and food services
o K-12 and childcare workers, including teachers, custodians, drivers, &
other staff
o Food processing, including meat processing plants
o Large-scale aviation manufacturing plants
o Transportation workers
o Workers in retail, agriculture, supply of critical services or materials for COVID-19 response, the U.S. Postal Service, and Department of motor vehicles
• Those living or working in licensed congregate settings and other special care or congregate environments where social distancing is not possible, including:
o Homeless shelters
o Congregate childcare institutions
o Emergency shelters or safe houses
o Corrections facilities
o Behavioral health institutions
At the University of Kansas Health System news conference on Wednesday morning, Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, said they expect to know more about COVID-19 guidance from the new federal administration in the next 48 hours.
He said there would probably be more emphasis on wearing masks, and a larger distribution network for vaccines, with a ramp-up in production.
Also during the program, three chief medical officers from area hospitals said they had seen a decrease in the rate of patients in the past few weeks, and they were glad there were no large increases from the holidays.
With more than 400,000 deaths nationwide from COVID-19, the doctors said they had never experienced anything like this in their lives.
Dr. Stites recommended opening up to the reality of this virus, and said people should wear their masks, keep their distance, and when they have a chance to get the vaccine, don’thesitate.
COVID-19 case numbers
Dr. Nathan Bahr, an infectious disease specialist at KU Health System, reported 65 active COVID-19 patients were hospitalized on Wednesday morning, a decrease of two from Tuesday. There were 24 patients in the intensive care unit, an increase of three since Tuesday. Ten of the ICU patients were on ventilators, the same as Tuesday. Another 49 COVID-19 patients were out of the acute infection phase, up two from Tuesday. There were a total of 114 COVID-19 patients, the same as Tuesday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 46 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, Jan. 20, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 16,249 cases. There was a cumulative total of 219 deaths.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 141,465 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. There were 1,729 cumulative deaths, and 144 was the daily average of new hospitalizations.
The state of Kansas reported 263,412 COVID-19 cases statewide on Wednesday, an increase of 3,590 cases since Monday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There were an additional 50 deaths reported, with a cumulative total of 3,575.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday night reported 24,434,284 total cumulative cases in the United States, with 406,001 total deaths nationwide.
Free COVID-19 testing available Thursday
Free COVID-19 testing will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, at the Quindaro Community Center, 2726 Brown Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. The testing is provided by Swope Health.
The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open on Thursday, Jan. 21, at the former Kmart building, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The UG Health Department recently added flu testing to the COVID-19 test at the Kmart building. Only one swab is used for the two tests. The Health Department estimates a two- to three-day wait for COVID-19 results. For the flu, the department only contacts people if it is positive.
Tests from the Health Department are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. The tests are nasopharyngeal swab tests. The Health Department no longer uses saliva tests.
The tests are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule. Bring something that shows that you live or work in Wyandotte County, such as a utility bill.
Wyandotte County residents who are interested in getting a COVID-19 vaccine may sign up at https://us.openforms.com/Form/2f2bcc68-3b6a-450b-9007-d39819db6572.
Testing sites are at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
The KU doctors’ news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/4307350255943013.
For more information about the testing site at the former Kmart location, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/10092020_newtestingsitewyco.pdf.
The new health order on hours for bars and restaurants is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/localhealthofficerorder011221.pdf.
Information about the new health order on extended hours for bars and restaurants is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/01112021ugissuesnewbarrestaurantorder.pdf.
The school health order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/localhealthofficerschoolorder01042021.pdf.
A letter explaining the school health order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/schoolletter_01052021_english.pdf.
To see information about the UG giving vaccines to health care workers, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-to-start-giving-covid-19-vaccines-to-health-department-and-ems-personnel-next-week/.
The KDHE vaccine report is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1708/COVID-19-Vaccine-Updates–123020-FINAL-PDF?bidId=.
Cards and letters of encouragement for caregivers at KU Health System may be sent to Share Joy, care of Patient Relations, 4000 Cambridge St., Mailstop 1021, Kansas City, Kansas, 66160. Emails can be sent to [email protected].
Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask and social distancing order.
The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
The KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.
The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.
The Wyandotte County page on the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 website is at https://bao.arcgis.com/covid-19/jhu/county/20209.html.