The mask ordinance is on the agenda for a special Unified Government Commission meeting scheduled at 7:15 p.m. Monday, May 17.
The April 29 mask ordinance is still in effect in Wyandotte County. Several surrounding communities dropped their mask ordinances after the CDC came out with new guidance last week.
Wyandotte County’s resident vaccination rate is 30.4 percent with a single dose, and 25 percent have completed their vaccinations. The Wyandotte County rate is lower than the Kansas rate of 39.9 percent who have received a single dose.
The special meeting will be a Zoom meeting, with instructions on how to join the meeting online at https://www.wycokck.org/Clerk/Agendas.aspx.
Free vaccinations available Monday
Free walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations will be available for everyone 12 and older from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, May 17, at the former Kmart, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas; and the former Best Buy, 10500 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. People also can schedule vaccinations at WycoVaccines.org.
The Kansas National Guard Armory, 100 S. 20th, Kansas City, Kansas, will be closed on Monday.
The schedule of vaccinations changed recently. To see the new schedule and more information about vaccinations, visit WycoVaccines.org or https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
The Health Department will be doing more mobile vaccinations, and people may request vaccines to be given at different sites in the community by going to WycoVaccines.org and clicking on “mobile vaccine request.” People also may request a ride to vaccination sites on the same page.
UG Health Department vaccinations are now open to people from other counties and states. People may walk in for vaccinations or can schedule them.
Those who wish to schedule an appointment may use the Health Department’s self-scheduling tool at WycoVaccines.org and click on a blue button that says, “Click here to schedule an appointment online.” The page is available in Spanish by clicking at the top of the page. Walk-in appointments also are welcome.
Those who don’t have an internet connection may call 3-1-1 or 913-573-5311 for assistance in scheduling their vaccination appointment time and date.
To see more information about Health Department vaccinations and next week’s schedule, visit WycoVaccines.org.
Other sites available for vaccination
Vaccinations at KU Health System are open to the public. Current patients may use MyChart to make an appointment. Others may call 913-588-1227 or visit kansashealthsystem.com/vaccine to make an appointment to get vaccinated. KU Health System currently is vaccinating residents of Kansas and Missouri who are 12 or older, by appointment only. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian throughout the appointment.
There are also pharmacies giving free COVID-19 vaccinations in Wyandotte County by appointment, when available. These include Price Chopper and Hen House pharmacies, which are now also accepting walk-in vaccinations or appointments, and are starting vaccinations for age 12 and up at those pharmacies that are giving Pfizer vaccine (see https://www.ballsfoodspharmacy.com/).
CVS has announced walk-in appointments for COVID-19 vaccine at some of its stores. Those interested in getting a vaccination at a CVS pharmacy are asked to visit a CVS website in order to make sure there is vaccine available. The website is at www.cvs.com/. Walgreens and Walmart also were listed on www.vaccines.gov as giving vaccinations.
Other pharmacies and sites giving vaccines are listed at www.vaccines.gov.
Case numbers reported
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 13 COVID-19 cases on Friday, May 14, for a cumulative 18,633 cases, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There was a cumulative total of 292 deaths reported, no change. The numbers were not updated Saturday and Sunday.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 172,688 cumulative COVID-19 cases.. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 54.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 311,705 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Friday, May 14, an increase of 367 cases since Wednesday, May 12. There were a total cumulative 5,038 deaths reported statewide, an increase of nine.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Sunday night reported 32,940,778 cumulative COVID-19 cases in the United States, with 484,970 total deaths reported nationwide. There were 28,813 new cases nationwide and 476 new deaths nationwide.
States with the highest number of new cases were Florida, 3,319; Alabama, 2,016; New York, 1,800; Pennsylvania, 1,693; and South Carolina, 1,525.
Countries with the highest number of new cases were India, 311,170; Brazil, 67,009; U.S., 28,813; Argentina, 21,460; and Colombia, 18,873, according to Johns Hopkins information.
Free testing available Monday
Free COVID-19 testing will be available from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, May 17, at the Oak Ridge Missionary Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. . The testing is in conjunction with Vibrant Health and the Wyandotte County Health Equity Task Force. Appointments are not necessary.
Free COVID-19 testing will be available from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, May 17, at the former Kmart store, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas; and at the former Best Buy store, 10500 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. For information about UG Health Department COVID-19 testing sites and hours, visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19. To see if there is any change to the schedule, visit https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept. Appointments are not needed.
One of the WellHealth sites for free COVID-19 testing is open beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, May 17, at Lowe’s at 6920 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. Appointments are required. For more information, to see other testing sites and to make an appointment, visit https://www.gogettested.com/kansas.
The Health Department’s general contact page is at https://www.wycokck.org/Health/Contact.aspx. The department’s Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
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. There are more test sites listed on this page.
Saliva testing is now offered at the UG Health Department. For more information, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/02042021-ugphd-saliva-testing-available.pdf.
The University of Kansas Health System COVID-19 update page is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/292961702392386.
A vaccine report for the state of Kansas is at
https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/123/Vaccine-Historical-Document-22521?bidId=.
Information about the mask ordinance passed April 29, which loosened restrictions in Wyandotte County, is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/updatedwycomaskorder04302021.pdf. The new mask order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/amend-lho-may-6-2021.pdf.
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.
The Johns Hopkins Data in Motion, a presentation on critical COVID-19 data in the past 24 hours, is at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/covid-19-daily-video.