photo by: Ashley Golledge

Ed Rosales administers a vaccine at Douglas County's COVID-19 clinic at the Douglas County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.

Data from four local health organizations showed that more than 47,500 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 and Haskell Indian Health Center — showed that 47,773 first doses and 26,994 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered. That’s an increase of 7,585 first doses and 3,794 second doses since the county last reported vaccine distribution information to the Journal-World on April 1.

The most recent vaccine distribution data shows that the four aforementioned organizations have administered 47,773 of the 54,145 first doses they have received, or around 88.2%. The four organizations have also administered 26,994 of the 37,205 second doses they have received, or around 72.6%.

With both first and second doses, those four Douglas County organizations had administered 74,767 total doses as of Thursday. That’s an increase of 11,379 doses since data was last reported on April 1. As the Journal-World reported, Douglas County is currently the most vaccinated county in Kansas against COVID-19. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s dashboard, as of Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., 445 out of every 1,000 Douglas County residents had received at least one dose.

The county is asking that anyone who has not yet scheduled a vaccine appointment or anyone who has been vaccinated at one of the clinics at the Douglas County Fairgrounds fill out a survey. The goal of the survey is to receive feedback on the clinics and identify barriers to receiving the vaccine for those who have not yet made appointments. The survey can be taken online at bit.ly/DGCovidSurvey.

In Kansas, the vaccine is currently available to people in Phases 1 through 5, meaning everyone 16 and older is eligible for the vaccine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are recommended for those 18 and older. The Pfizer vaccine is recommended for those 16 and older.

To be added to the waiting list for Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health’s vaccination clinics, you can fill out the county’s vaccine interest form at dgcoks.org/vaccineinterestform.

Other organizations in Douglas County besides LMH Health, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, Heartland Community Health Center and Haskell Indian Health Center are administering vaccines. The Journal-World published a list of other vaccine distributors earlier this week. The list includes AuBurn Pharmacies in Baldwin City and Eudora, CVS, Dillons, Hy-Vee, Medical Arts Pharmacy, Orchards Drug, Sigler Pharmacy, Walgreens and Walmart.

People who have questions about the COVID-19 or the vaccination process can call the county’s COVID hotline at 785-864-9000 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.