More than half of Kansas residents 18 and older are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to Gov. Laura Kelly, many of the state’s residents still need to get vaccinated.
“I’m pleased at our state’s consistent progress in getting shots in arms – but we still can’t take our foot off the gas,” Gov. Kelly said in a recent news release. “Every Kansan must get vaccinated to protect our communities, our schools, and our economy from future outbreaks, and maintain our steady return to normal.”
To date, the CDC reports that 50% of Kansans 18 and older have been fully vaccinated, and 59.9% of Kansans 18 and older have been vaccinated with one dose. Additionally, 38.5% of all Kansans are reported as vaccinated, with 46.9% of Kansans having received one dose.
“While vaccinating half of all Kansans 18 and older is a significant milestone, hospitalization rates among young people are rising nationwide. It’s critical that all Kansans age 12 and older get vaccinated,” Gov. Kelly said. “Health experts continue to demonstrate a thorough, deliberate review process when it comes to vaccines, making safety the number one priority in vaccine approval. The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and free – I encourage all Kansans to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated.”
At the University of Kansas Health System news conference Monday morning, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, said Kansas is doing better than many states, but could be doing a lot better.
He said during a discussion that the demand is down because everyone who wanted the vaccine has had it.
He lamented that there is still a lot of hesitancy and gave the example of a recent patient in his clinic who said he didn’t want the government telling him what to do. He said that thinking is based on opinion and not science. He asked those who don’t believe in coronavirus because they haven’t had it if they believe in AIDS or cancer because they have not had those either.
Right now anybody 12 and older should get vaccinated, he said.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, said he’s not sure the United States will reach the 70 percent by July 4 national vaccination goal set by the president.
Currently, the KU Health System is discussing new approaches to get more people vaccinated, he said.
He said this has been “a year of absence, unlike any other, that has to be one of the hardest things we’ve all experienced collectively.” He urged people not to bury their heads in the sand and say, “It’s not going to get me,” and to recognize that the way out of this crisis is the same way they’ve been able to conquer polio, smallpox and other deadly scourges of mankind and, that’s through vaccination.
Free walk-in vaccinations available
The former Kmart store site at 7836 State Ave. will be open for free walk-in vaccinations for everyone 12 and older from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8.
The Health Department is holding mobile vaccination clinics at schools this month.A mobile vaccination clinic will be at Bonner Springs High School, 100 McDanield St., from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 8. It is open to the public. Anyone over age 12 may be vaccinated. Walk-ins are welcome.
People may also schedule vaccinations at WycoVaccines.org. Residents may request rides to the vaccination clinic through a form on the same website.
The Unified Government Health Department vaccination hours changed recently. To see the schedule and more information about vaccinations, visit WycoVaccines.org or https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept.
Those who receive COVID-19 vaccinations are asked to consider bringing an ID to make the process go faster.
The Health Department is doing more mobile COVID-19 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.
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 schdule, visit WycoVaccines.org.
Other sites available for vaccinations
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. The website also tells whether vaccines are in stock at the locations.
Case numbers reported
Dr. Hawkinson reported the COVID-19 case numbers at the University of Kansas Health System were lower on Monday morning. Four active COVID-19 patients were being treated at the hospital, a decrease of two from Friday. One patient was in the intensive care unit, a decrease of one from Friday. Six other patients were still in the hospital, but were out of the acute infection phase, no change from Friday. There were 10 total COVID-19 patients, a decrease of two from Friday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 19 COVID-19 cases on Monday, June 7, for a cumulative 18,878 cases, according to the Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 webpage. There was a cumulative total of 299 deaths reported, an increase of one since Friday.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 174,848 cumulative, COVID-19 cases on Monday in the Kansas City region. The daily average of new hospitalizations was 39.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 315,099 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Kansas on Monday, June 7, an increase of 244 cases since Friday, June 4. There were a total of 5,100 cumulative deaths reported statewide, an increase of 16.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Monday night reported 33,377,696 cumulative COVID-19 cases in the United States, with 597,949 total deaths reported nationwide. There were 5,395 new cases nationwide and 251 new deaths nationwide.
States with high numbers of new cases were California, 653; Texas, 539; Arizona, 507; New York, 507; and Colorado, 374.
Countries with high numbers of new cases were India, 100,636; 39,637; Colombia, 24,050; Argentina, 16,415; and U.S., 5,395, according to Johns Hopkins information..
Free testing available
Free COVID-19 testing will be offered from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, at the former Kmart, 7836 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. This is the Health Department’s central site.
Wyandotte County residents may contact the Health Department at wycohelp.org to sign up for a test to be delivered to their home.
For more details about free COVID-19 testing offered by the UG Health Department, visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19, https://www.facebook.com/UGHealthDept or call 3-1-1.
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 KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/235139578013402.
The University of Kansas Health System COVID-19 update page is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/330310795391910.
A vaccine report for the state of Kansas is at
https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/123/Vaccine-Historical-Document-22521?bidId=.
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.