Wyandotte County says ‘critical workers’ get COVID vaccine next. Seniors must wait
Teachers, police, grocery store workers and others in jobs that put them in “high contact” with the public are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Wyandotte County — and then come seniors age 65 and older, health officials announced Friday.
“Phase two of our county’s COVID-19 roll out will expand eligibility to more key segments of workers in Wyandotte County,” Juliann Van Liew, director of the Unified Government Public Health Department, said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, vaccines supplies are still very limited, so we do not have enough vaccines to open this up to everyone in Phase 2 at once. This means we’ll be going through Phase 2 in stages.”
By contrast, Johnson County health officials announced Thursday that residents 65 and older would be the top priority and could begin getting vaccines on Tuesday. Teachers and child care workers there are also high priority and will get vaccines through Children’s Mercy.
Phase 2 of the Kansas vaccine distribution, a large group that includes essential workers and seniors 65 and older, went into effect Thursday, but the state is leaving it up to each county to determine the details as supply remains limited.
Liew said Wyandotte County prioritized people in jobs that put them at risk for being exposed and spreading the virus, where COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred frequently and who is most at risk of exposure or serious illness.
The county has already vaccinated some in these groups, health officials said, including first-responders, some K-12 teachers and child care workers. Teachers in Bonner Springs, for instance, were among the first in Kansas to receive the vaccine, district officials said this week.
In the first phase of the rollout, the county has been vaccinating front-line health care workers. In addition, residents and staff in long-term care facilities have been getting vaccines through a federal program.
Eligible for the vaccine now in Wyandotte County are:
▪ Workers in K-12 education, including teachers, custodians, bus drivers, administrators, etc.
▪ Child care providers — both licensed, in-home providers as well as staff at child care centers.
▪ Public safety workers, such as police, fire department, EMS and sheriff’s department.
▪ Public transit workers.
▪ U.S. Postal Service workers.
▪ Department of Motor Vehicle workers.
▪ Grocery, food service and food processing workers.
The county encouraged businesses to sign up employees as a group for vaccinations, prioritizing older employees when possible. Health officials want it done quickly, given how the virus continues to spread in the county.
Employers can register employees using the same vaccine interest form individual residents can use, at ughealth.info/Vaccine.
Anyone wanting the vaccine must register first and will be contacted for an appointment. Walk-ins to the county’s vaccination facility in a former Kmart in Kansas City, Kansas are not allowed.
More than 20% of outbreaks in the county have been in grocery, food service and food processing settings, health officials said.
“We really want to see employers in all of these critical services getting their employees signed up as soon as possible,” said Van Liew.
Coming next: People age 65 and older — who are more at risk for the worst effects of COVID-19 — people living in group settings and more critical workers. People in those groups are also encouraged to fill out the online vaccine interest form now so they can be notified when there is vaccine for them.
Availability of doses, future outbreaks and other developments could change the distribution priorities, Van Liew said.
The county has COVID-19 information at wycokck.org/COVID-19. If you don’t have internet access, residents can call 3-1-1 for assistance.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 11:44 AM.
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