Kansas expanding COVID vaccine eligibility next week. 600,000 people will qualify
Kansas will move to the next two phases of its COVID-19 vaccination rollout next week, opening up shots to younger adults with medical risks like asthma and essential workers such as bank tellers.
Gov. Laura Kelly said Monday that Kansas will begin phases three and four simultaneously on March 22 and that the state will meet President Joe Biden’s deadline to make every adult eligible by May 1.
The announcement marks an acceleration in the vaccination campaign and comes as Kelly is under pressure from lawmakers to let counties set their own phases.
More than 567,000 people have received at least one shot, just under 20% of the population, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks Kansas 40th among states in per capita vaccine distribution, though state officials have faulted the low ranking on data reporting problems. Missouri, which expanded its own eligibility criteria on Monday, ranks 43rd.
The move to phases three and four will greatly expand the population of residents eligible for a shot. State officials said approximately 600,000 people will become eligible in a state of 2.9 million.
Because obesity, which affects 35% of the state population, is included in the eligible conditions the actual number of Kansans eligible in the next phase may be greater than 600,000.
The new phases further expand the scope of essential workers and people with medical conditions who can get a shot.
Among the medical conditions covered by phase three and four:
- Moderate to severe asthma
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Down syndrome
- Heart conditions
- Immunocompromised from solid organ transplant
- Liver disease
- Type 2 Diabetes mellitus
- Sickle cell disease
- Obesity
- Pregnancy
Essential workers covered by phases three and four include:
- Previously unvaccinated agricultural and food workers
- Workers in critical manufacturing not previously eligible
- Utility workers
- Social service and government workers not previously eligible
- Logistics workers, such as transportation workers and couriers
- Water and wastewater workers
- Construction workers
- Finance workers
- Information technology and communications workers
“This expedited timeline will allow Kansans to get back to work, get back to school and get back to a normal way of life,” Kelly said.
Successfully meeting these goals, Kelly said, will be dependent on continued increases in supply of the vaccine.
“Our biggest barrier to delivering vaccines has been a national shortage,” Kelly said. “If the Biden administration delivers on its commitment we anticipate that we will finish combination phase three and four by late April.”
Kelly said the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine will be key. The state, she said, is expecting 100,000 doses of the vaccine to be delivered in two weeks on top of the roughly 150,000 doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccine the state receives on a weekly basis.
KDHE secretary Lee Norman said the Johnson & Johnson shipment will be one-time, not recurring.
With larger shipments, Kelly said the state is working to set up mass vaccination events and expand the number of providers statewide.
The announcement came hours after lawmakers weighed advancing a bill that would allow counties to set their own distribution priorities beyond the boundaries set by KDHE. Norman urged legislators on Monday to oppose the bill.
“The phases are based on what is the likelihood an individual will do poorly but also what’s the likelihood they will be a superspreader,” Norman said. “This is exactly the same prioritization schedule as the CDC has.”
Norman said counties that have finished phase two are “on pause” while they wait for the rest of the state to catch up.
The bill, introduced last week, came in reaction to the department’s decision to withhold vaccine allotments from counties, such as Riley County, that chose to move forward before the state. Riley County Health Officer Julie Gibbs said her county had chosen to move to phase three and prioritize some with severe medical conditions in phase three over some essential workers in phase 2.
KDHE she said, told her they would withhold some vaccine shipments if the county took that route.
“I was told we were not following guidance,” Gibbs said. She added that the Riley County moved back to phase two before losing any shipments
Republican lawmakers criticized the state’s choice to place people with severe illnesses, like cancer, in phase three behind a broad group of older Kansans and essential workers.
“Just because they’re not following guidelines you’re not allowing counties when they deal when they see that individual and their heart is breaking they’ve got to tell that person I’m sorry you’re not worthy of this vaccination because we have to give it to half the population,” said Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a Galena Republican. “That is wrong.”
Sen. Pat Pettey, a Kansas City Democrat, said the bill was unnecessary as the state is nearing a move to the next phase. Large counties, she said, will need more time to get through earlier phases.
“If we want our counties to work together, if we want to have a super cohesive system across the state, I don’t see this being the way to do it,” Pettey said.
County leaders in Sedgwick, Norton and Ness counties submitted written testimony asking for the opportunity to operate on their own terms.
Sedgwick County commissioner Jim Howell wrote that the county never heard back from KDHE after it asked permission to allow gravely ill individuals to be vaccinated. Howell called the position “misguided.”
Kelly said Monday it was not a mistake to hold off on vaccinating those with medical risks.
“We followed very closely with the CDC guidelines in determining who was at the greatest risk and wanting to get them to the front of the line,” Kelly said.
Dennis Kriesel, director of the Kansas Association of Local Health Departments, said officials in a growing number of counties have wanted to move on to the next phase.
“I’ve heard more lately, just more and more health departments that have reached everyone in phase two in their county that wants a shot,” Kriesel said.
An official in one rural county told him that she feared her county would struggle to find 100 residents to vaccinate under the current phase.
Missouri this week opened up a new phase of vaccine eligibility to a wide swath of “critical infrastructure” workers including teachers, grocery store employees, bus drivers and workers in the energy sector. The state estimates the category covers 550,000 Missourians.
Others still eligible in Missouri are senior citizens, first responders and health care workers and those with certain pre-existing conditions.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 4:43 PM.
