photo by: Lauren Fox

There were 10 drive-thru vaccine stations and one walk-up vaccine station inside the arena at the Douglas County Fairgrounds on Jan. 29, 2021.

Updated at 4:20 p.m.Friday

Data from four local health organizations showed that nearly 17,000 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 and Haskell Indian Health Center — showed that 16,758 first doses and 4,495 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Douglas County as of Thursday.

That’s an increase of 4,866 first doses and 2,779 second doses since the county last reported vaccine distribution information to the Journal-World on Feb. 12. Those 7,645 doses were not all necessarily distributed within the last week, however. Health department spokesperson Karrey Britt said some of the organizations did not report fully updated numbers last week, so some of the newly reported 7,645 doses may have been administered in weeks prior. The Journal-World has asked the health department to send updated vaccine distribution numbers every Friday.

The most recent data shows that these four organizations have administered 16,758 of the 17,718 first doses they have received, or 94.6%. The four organizations have also administered 4,495 of the 10,752 second doses they have received, or 41.8%.

The percentage of second doses that have been administered is smaller because agencies must wait the appropriate time to administer the second dose, Britt said. The second Pfizer vaccine dose is meant to be administered 21 days after the first dose, and the second Moderna vaccine dose is meant to be administered 28 days after the first dose. Britt said the first mass vaccination clinic for second doses would occur on Feb. 26.

With both first and second doses, those four Douglas County organizations had administered 21,253 total doses as of Thursday.

Douglas County is currently vaccinating people in Phase 2, which includes residents 65 and older, essential workers in local government, workers in the K-12 education sector, workers in the food service industry, people who live or work in congregate care settings, workers critical to the functioning of the community and anyone who was eligible to be vaccinated in Phase 1 but has not yet received a shot. Workers critical to the functioning of the community include people such as transportation workers, DMV and postal workers, agricultural and food processing workers, and those who supply services or materials that are used as part of the pandemic response. The county’s Vaccine Planning Unit estimates that between 30,000 and 40,000 Douglas County residents qualify for Phase 2.

Other organizations have started to get involved in distributing COVID-19 vaccine doses in Douglas County. As the Journal-World reported, Walmart and Dillons announced they would be administering some doses through the U.S. Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

Britt said Dillons and Walmart would be receiving vaccines directly from the federal government and distributing them through their own plans and systems. Those doses will not be included in the county’s numbers. Additionally, Britt said that Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health had been working with some local pharmacies to provide vaccinations in places such as long-term care facilities and congregate living settings. These doses come through the health department and are included in the numbers provided above.