photo by: August Rudisell/Special to the Journal-World

Vehicles line up at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, where residents were receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, on Friday, Jan. 29, 2020, in Lawrence, Kan.

Local leaders announced Thursday that there are only about 3,000 Douglas County residents left to vaccinate as part of Phase 2 of the state’s COVID plan.

As previously reported, Douglas County is set to begin vaccinations in Phases 3 and 4 on Monday. The Journal-World reported Wednesday that at least 11,000 county residents will become newly eligible as the program moves to Phases 3 and 4. That number will likely get much higher as more residents fill out information through the county’s vaccine interest form online.

Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health didn’t provide a new estimate on the number of people expected to become eligible under the new phases. However, the department did provide information on how the shots would be allocated. Next week, 70% of the shots will be used to provide vaccinations to those remaining in Phase 2, while 30% will be used to begin vaccinations for those in Phases 3 and 4.

Sonia Jordan, LDCPH director of informatics, said the goal is to finish most of Phase 2 next week, which will allow Phase 3 and Phase 4 shots to grow in number.

People who are eligible under Phases 3 and 4 of the state’s vaccination plan include:

• People 16 to 64 years old who have various health conditions, including cancer, Down syndrome, certain heart conditions, diabetes, pregnancy, asthma and a few other conditions.

• People who work in the following occupations: agricultural and food workers; workers performing in-person activities indoors; utility workers; social service and government workers; truck drivers and logistics workers; water and wastewater workers; shelter, housing and finance workers; and information technology and communication workers.

People in Phases 3 and 4 will be selected randomly to receive a vaccine as they become available. People need to fill out an online form at dgcoks.org/vaccineinterestform to have their name added to the list for future vaccine appointments.

People who have questions about the process can call the county’s COVID hotline at 785-864-9000 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.