By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Doniphan County Health Department in Kansas is urging patience as they continue to administer their, so far, limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine.
Doniphan County is currently vaccinating its Phase 2 population. This includes people who are 65 and older, high-contact critical workers, people who've been in congregate settings and any previously unvaccinated medical personnel and long-term care residents.
Doniphan County Health Administrator Sheryl Pierce says the health department is starting to vaccinate school personnel this week and next. She says the wait time on a vaccine depends on a variety of factors.
"Just depends on whether you're a teacher or 65 or older," Pierce said. "Typically, it's going to be a 1-2 week period. We get limited dosages and we have a very long list of people 65 and older."
Doniphan County residents who are eligible for a vaccine can call 785-985-3591 to get put on a waiting list.
Of the 7,600 people who live in Doniphan County, around 1,500 of those residents are above the age of 65, according to the 2019 U.S. Census. To date, Doniphan County has vaccinated a total of 260 people.
"Certainly, we thought we'd be getting a lot more doses than this," Pierce admitted. "That's what makes it difficult - not knowing how many doses we're going to get. So, we can't really schedule out very far in advance."
Over 185,000 Kansans have been vaccinated so far, or 6.4% of the population. Doniphan County has reported over 900 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began last March.
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