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.

Data from four local health organizations showed that more than 19,500 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 19,568 first doses and 7,411 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered.

That’s an increase of 2,810 first doses and 2,916 second doses since the county last reported vaccine distribution information to the Journal-World on Feb. 19.

The most recent data shows that these four organizations have administered 19,568 of the 21,995 first doses they have received, or 89%. The four organizations have also administered 7,411 of the 15,837 second doses they have received, or 46.8%.

The percentage of second doses that have been administered is smaller because agencies must wait the appropriate time to administer the second dose, Karrey Britt, a spokesperson from the health department, previously told the Journal-World. 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.

With both first and second doses, those four Douglas County organizations had administered 26,979 total doses as of Thursday. That’s an increase of 5,726 doses since data was last reported on Feb. 19.

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 are 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.

Dillons and Walmart receive vaccines directly from the federal government and distribute them through their own plans and systems, Britt said. 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.