Wyandotte County to shut down mass COVID-19 vaccination, testing site at old Kmart
.JPG "The UGPHD will be closing its mass COVID-19 vaccination and testing facility at the former Kmart site, 7836 State Ave., on March 30, 2022.")
The health department of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, is shutting down the county’s mass COVID-19 vaccination and testing site located at an old Kmart location, the health department announced Tuesday.
The final day a person can receive a vaccine at the site at 7836 State Ave. is March 25. The last day for testing will be March 30, when the site closes.
“When the Kmart facility first opened, it was one of the only places in the State of Kansas administering COVID vaccinations,” Dr. Allen Greiner, Chief Medical Officer for the Unified Government’s health department, said in a statement.
“Now, however, the vaccines are much more accessible, and Wyandotte County residents have many choices about where to go to get vaccinated or tested, throughout the community.”
The decision to close the mass vaccination site, which opened in December 2020, comes as COVID-19 cases across the county, state and country have sharply dropped. Last week, the metro area reported fewer than 1,000 new cases since the omicron variant arrived in Kansas City.
But despite the decreasing case count, Wyandotte County still has a low vaccination rate, with a little more than 52% of its residents having completed vaccination, according to the county’s resident vaccine data.
In Kansas, just over 54% of residents have been fully vaccinated.
The Unified Government voted to end the county’s mask mandate in December 2021, marking one of the first measures brought on by newly-elected Mayor Tyrone Garner.
The health department still said there are several locations within Wyandotte County where residents can get vaccinated. Those sites include the Unified Government’s health department, which is stationed at 619 Ann Avenue.
Residents can also find other vaccination sites at vaccines.gov.
