Updated at 4 p.m. Friday TOPEKA – Gov. Laura Kelly announced Friday that starting on Monday, Kansas will make the COVID-19 vaccine available to all Kansans 16 years older, as the state enters the final Phase 5 of the Vaccine Prioritization plan. “With the anticipated increase in supply ...

Data from four local health organizations showed that more than 35,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Douglas County as of Thursday. Altogether, data from the four distributors — LMH Health, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, Heartland Community Health Center ...

Two more Douglas County residents have died from COVID-19, according to the county health department, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the county to 83. According to the health department’s dashboard, there have been 39 deaths in the 85-plus age range, 24 deaths in ...

A variant of COVID-19 that was originally detected in the United Kingdom has been identified in Douglas County, according to a news release from the local health department on Thursday evening. The B.1.1.7 variant is about 50% more contagious than the COVID-19 strain that is common in the ...

TOPEKA — Top Republican lawmakers in Kansas are promising to thwart Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's plan to encourage county officials to maintain mask mandates to help control COVID-19, declaring a statewide policy unnecessary after steep declines in new cases this winter. GOP leaders in the ...

A local theater and a pharmacy have teamed up to host one of Douglas County’s COVID-19 vaccination sites, and when someone gets a shot at the theater, it comes with a show. Sigler Pharmacy has been using Theatre Lawrence as its vaccine clinic site since late February. During clinics, the ...

Douglas County reported 8,841 cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, an increase of five cases since Monday. In Douglas County, 8,626 out of the 8,841 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, meaning 215 cases are active. The county has ...

Story updated at 10:14 p.m. Tuesday: TOPEKA — Officials in Kansas’ second-most-populous county are considering dropping a mask mandate, citing changes in laws to manage the coronavirus pandemic and other emergencies awaiting Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s signature. Sedgwick County ...

Data from four local health organizations showed that more than 29,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Douglas County as of Thursday. Altogether, data from the four distributors — LMH Health, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, Heartland Community Health Center ...

TOPEKA — About 40% of Kansas prison staff and about 30% of inmates have declined to be vaccinated for COVID-19 despite massive outbreaks at lockups that have infected thousands. The Kansas Department of Corrections is in its sixth week of offering vaccinations to inmates and staff, the ...

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 ...

Douglas County’s school virus guidance will remain at its lowest tier for the sixth straight week as key metrics for the spread of COVID-19 remain low. On Thursday, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health announced that its guidance to schools would stay in the green tier, which recommends ...

TOPEKA — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said Wednesday that a measure approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature to rewrite Kansas' emergency management laws while limiting her authority during the coronavirus pandemic is "reasonable." Legislators sent her the bill Tuesday and she said ...

At least 11,000 Douglas County residents will become newly eligible for COVID-19 vaccines next week, and LMH Health is working to open a clinic that would provide 2,000 new shots per week for local residents. Brian Bradfield, associate vice president for ancillary services at LMH, told ...

Updated at 5:58 p.m. Monday TOPEKA — Kansas will give COVID-19 vaccinations faster than planned so that all adults with medical conditions can seek shots next week and the state will aim for President Joe Biden's goal of having inoculations available for all adults May 1, Gov. Laura Kelly ...

A collaboration among three Lawrence organizations has resulted in a robust COVID-19 testing program aimed at finding asymptomatic cases among community members who often interact with strangers. In December, the Lawrence Restaurant Association partnered with LMH Health and Lawrence-Douglas ...

Data from four local health organizations showed that more than 25,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Douglas County as of Thursday. Altogether, data from the four distributors — LMH Health, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, Heartland Community Health Center ...

Douglas County will receive replacement Johnson & Johnson vaccines after a faulty transfer led to nearly 600 doses being wasted, the health department announced Friday afternoon. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said it would be able to send Douglas County 600 replacement ...

Douglas County reported 8,761 cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday, an increase of 26 cases since Tuesday. In Douglas County, 8,527 out of the 8,761 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, meaning 234 cases are active. The county ...

Nearly 600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine were wasted due to a faulty transfer of the doses between Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and LMH Health, according to a news release Thursday evening from the hospital. The error resulted in LMH refreezing doses that had ...