At Wednesday's Sedgwick County Commission meeting, county officials announced more than six thousand health care workers at local hospitals have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. However, no one has gotten the second dose yet. The county says they are vaccinating over one thousand people per day at Intrust Bank Arena, with the capacity to do up to 19-hundred. The process takes about 30 minutes, including 15 minutes to observe the recipients afterward.
Tim Kauffman with the county gave commissioners an update on their vaccine supplies. “KDHE is responsible for distribution the vaccine across the state. We didn’t receive any vaccine this week, we may not receive any vaccine next week. If we don’t, we will have used up all of the vaccine that’s been allocated to us,” he said.
County officials add that they aren't the only ones who have the vaccine, citing places like Hunter Health and the VA Hospital.
In this initial stage of the vaccine rollout, health care workers that want it have priority. Long-term care facility staff and residents will be next. As the vaccine becomes more available, generally healthy adults will be vaccinated in the spring or summer.
The county now has a StoryMap on their web site to track the number of vaccinations given thus far. The information will be updated each Wednesday.