TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Governor Laura Kelly has announced the official phased plan to roll out vaccines for the state of Kansas.
Governor Laura Kelly says that between Monday, January 4 and Wednesday, January 6, the state reported 5,501 new cases of COVID-19 and 130 new deaths. She said this brings Kansas’s total to 236,818 positive cases of the virus, 7,113 hospitalizations related to the virus, and 3,027 deaths from the virus.
According to Governor Kelly, the state also exceeded its goal of testing 1 million Chance by the end of 2020. She said the official number of tests on Kansans from the start of the pandemic to the end of 2020 was 1,001,000. To find a free testing site, Gov. Kelly said Kansans can visit gogettested.com/Kansas.
Gov. Kelly said there is a gap between the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccination tracker and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. She said her team is working closely with the CDC to close this gap. She said the KDHE uses KS WebIZ to monitor the state’s vaccination progress. She said the state has given 45,872 doses of the vaccine as of Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m. She said residents can go to kansasvaccine.gov to learn more about the vaccine in the state.
According to Governor Kelly, Kansas has received 17,550 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for the week of Jan. 4, she said the state was also receiving the second dose of the first 24,000 doses. She said the state received 16,900 doses that week. She said Kansas is expected to receive 17,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine during the week of Jan. 11 and 17,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
According to Governor Kelly, her team has drawn up an official phased plan for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for the state, which are as follows:
- Phase 1 – Residents of long-term care facilities, health workers, workers critical to the continuity of the COVID-19 response
- Phase 2 – Residents aged 65 and over, those who work in licensed municipal institutions such as correction facilities and homeless shelters, and highly contact critical workers who work with many contacts who may be exposed to the virus
- Phase 3 – Residents 16-64 years old with serious medical conditions that increase the risk of serious illness with COVID-19, non-health workers and critical infrastructure workers unable to work remotely
- Stage 4 – Residents 16-64 years old with other medical conditions that increase the risk of serious illness with COVID-19
- Phase 5 – Any resident over 16 years old
Gov. Kelly said Phase 1 is expected to be completed by the end of January.
According to Governor Kelly, the phased plan was designed using guidelines from state and state health experts. She said the state will continue to make decisions based on what doctors, science and public health experts say. She said the time frame for the rest of the vaccine rollout will depend on when and how many doses the state receives from the federal government. She said it’s important to keep in mind that while more people will be eligible for the vaccine with each stage, there are also more health care providers who will administer the vaccine at each stage.
Gov. Kelly said her health care salute for the week of Jan. 4 goes to Leslie Pfannenstiel, the Norton County Health Administrator. She said Pfannanstiel’s team consists of just seven members. She said Pfannenstiel also helps outbreak-related facilities and has provided social and financial services to quarantined residents.
January 7, 12:15 PM
Governor Laura Kelly will inform the state of her efforts against COVID-19.
Governor Laura Kelly says she will hold a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 4 p.m. to keep the state informed of her government’s efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also expected to discuss vaccine priority groups.
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