Want a COVID vaccine in Johnson County? Officials ask certain residents to sign up
Kansas seniors and essential workers will soon be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and Johnson County health officials want to know who wants one.
Phase 2 of the state’s plan, expected to begin by early February, includes people 65 years of age and older and a long list of essential workers.
Like Kansas City, Jackson and Wyandotte counties already have, the Johnson County Department of Health & Environment announced Friday that it has set up an online survey for residents. The information will help the department know how many people want the vaccine when doses arrive.
The Johnson County survey is at jocogov.org/covid-19-vaccine — scroll toward the middle of the page. Residents who need assistance or a Spanish translator can call 913-715-2819.
People who fill out the survey will be notified when the vaccine is available and given instructions on how to schedule an appointment.
Health officials across the metro have emphasized that filling out these online surveys does not reserve a vaccine dose or create an appointment.
Johnson County officials said they are almost finished vaccinating health care workers as part of the state’s Phase 1, which also includes nursing home residents and staff.
The vast Phase 2 includes people 65 and older, people who live in group settings and “high-contact” critical workers, including firefighters, police officers, grocery store workers, workers in kindergarten through 12th-grade schools and child care centers, transportation workers, U.S. Postal Service employees and people who work in retail and agriculture.
The complete list is published with the state’s five-phase vaccine plan at kansasvaccine.gov.
“It’s going to take time to march through these phases,” Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said this week. “Phase 2 is the biggest number of people, and we’re going to be stuck in Phase 2 vaccinating people for probably at least a couple of months.”
The county has posted information about its vaccine rollout at jocogov.org/coronavirus-covid-19-update, where people can sign up for daily COVID-19 email updates.
In Missouri, first responders and people 65 and older are also among the next in line to get the vaccine, where health officials cautioned this week that the state currently does not have enough vaccine for them yet.
But Gov. Mike Parson’s office said federal partners plan to “significantly increase” vaccine supply to the state next week and advised giving priority to people 65 and older and those with certain health issues.
The state has directed residents to their local pharmacy or health care provider for vaccine information, but some people have found that those sources don’t have information yet because the vaccine isn’t available.
The state has posted vaccine information at MoStopsCovid.com, where it says a map of vaccination locations will be posted “once a vaccine is available to all Missourians.”
Here’s more vaccine sign-up information around the metro:
▪ The Kansas City Health Department — 816-513-6152 — has an online survey for residents who want the vaccine so the department can contact them with information about how to schedule an appointment to get the shots. The survey is on the city’s website, kcmo.gov/city-hall/departments/health/coronavirus.
People will be vaccinated according to occupation and risk status — basically where they fall on the vaccine priority schedule created by the state. Answering the survey questions does not guarantee a vaccination appointment, the health department says on the website.
▪ In Jackson County, residents and people who work in the county are asked to take a survey and sign up online. The survey — on the Jackson County Health Department’s website at jacohd.org/covid-19-vaccine-survey-tool — asks for contact information, occupation and pre-existing medical conditions. 816-404-6415.
▪ Wyandotte County’s online survey is on the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas’ website: wycokck.org/COVID-19. The health department will use your contact information to let you know when the vaccine is available and where. County residents can also call 3-1-1 for COVID information, health officials say. The health department number is 913-573-8855.
Health officials in Platte and Clay counties are working on their sign-up efforts.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 3:25 PM.
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