Johnson County reports COVID vaccines received, but stops showing how many given
Johnson County has received just over 22,000 doses of COVID vaccines, including 5,000 earmarked as second doses, according to the latest numbers from health officials.
But the numbers don’t show how many vaccines have been administered, something the county stopped providing after reporting that about 7,000 had been administered as of Wednesday.
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment received 6,825 doses Thursday, the largest allotment in one day since the first doses began arriving a month ago, according to county’s website.
The county’s website had reported on Wednesday that the agency had received about 15,000 doses and had administered 7,000. But a couple hours later, the number of doses administered was removed from the website.
“Now that second doses are being administered, the numbers are not as straightforward as they once were,” Barbara Mitchell, spokeswoman for the Johnson County health department, said in a statement Thursday.
“At this point, posting the doses received is the clearest way to communicate the information. We will continue to evaluate the best way to communicate information that is clear to our residents.”
Johnson County announced earlier this week that it will begin giving COVID-19 vaccines to residents age 65 and older starting next week as it moves into the next phase of distribution. The first phase prioritized first responders, health care workers and residents of nursing homes.
Teachers in grades K-12 and child care workers are included in the next phase, but it was unclear when those vaccinations would begin.
Dr. Sanmi Areola, the county’s director of health and environment, said on Thursday that “the opportunity to get vaccinated next week and the week after depends on the supply,” which has been limited.
Nearly 40,000 people in Johnson County have tested positive for the coronavirus and there have been 543 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to numbers Johnson County health officials released Friday.
As of Thursday, the Kansas City metropolitan area had a total of 127,304 COVID-19 cases and 1,627 deaths since the pandemic began. The metro area encompasses Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
Kansas reported on Friday that it has had a total of 266,653 cases and 3,598 deaths to date. The monthly positive test rate was 9.8%. The state moved into its next phase of the vaccine, allowing those over age 65 and some essential workers to become eligible starting Thursday.
On Friday, Missouri confirmed 445,621 cases and 6,527 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 11.7%. The state announced it will establish nine mass vaccination sites, but cautioned that supply remains limited.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 1:56 PM.
