photo by: Associated Press
A nurse gives a COVID-19 vaccine at a distribution center on Thursday, January 21, 2021 at North Side Baptist Church in Weatherford, Texas. (Yffy Yossifor / Star-Telegram via AP)
Douglas County residents can now fill out a form to indicate that they are interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, in what phase they believe they qualify, and how they would like to be notified when vaccines are available.
The form can be completed online at dgcoks.org/vaccineinterestform.
The survey will not make an appointment or discuss a vaccine, a health department press release said Friday, but it will help planners streamline the notification and scheduling process by determining which phase people qualify in.
This announcement from the health department comes after some residents expressed their concern that the notification process for phase 2 is competitive and unequal. Douglas County currently has a Phase 2 vaccination clinic scheduled for Jan. 29 for people 65 and older, but all 500 appointments were filled within 25 minutes of the warning going out. When the country announced 460 extra appointment hours for January 29, the venues were filled within 13 minutes.
“With an extremely limited amount of vaccine, we realize it’s frustrating for people who could not plan appointments for themselves or their loved ones,” said Charlie Bryan, chair of the vaccination planning unit. United command. ‘This new form will help us determine in which phase people qualify, so that we can communicate effectively with them as doses become available to their priority group. We believe this will help with the notification process going forward. ”
Any residents who need help filling out the form can contact the Senior Resource Center at 785-842-0543 and leave a message. Staff will return calls during business hours in the order received calls.
County takes note of 27 new cases
Douglas County reported 7,818 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday, an increase of 27 cases since Thursday.
In Douglas County, 6,816 of the 7,818 cases are inactive or out of the contagious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, which means 1,002 cases are active.
The province has averaged about 46 new cases per day over the past 14 days, according to a 14-day moving average graph updated by the health department on weekdays. The current average of 46.14 new cases per day is lower than a high of 80 cases per day in mid-November and at a recent low of around 45 cases per day in mid-December.
Douglas County has a 14-day COVID-19 incidence rate of 537.04 per 100,000 people. Last Friday, 4,129 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered at LMH Health, Heartland, the Department of Health, Haskell Indian Health Center and long-term care facilities. This week, 4,644 doses were administered through the same facilities. Douglas County has so far received 11,239 doses of vaccinations.
Twelve patients at Lawrence Hospital had COVID-19 on Friday, two less than on Thursday. To date, 36 Douglas County residents have died from COVID-19.