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 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 and Haskell Indian Health Center — showed that 25,648 first doses and 12,974 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered.

That’s an increase of 3,896 first doses and 2,145 second doses since the county last reported vaccine distribution information to the Journal-World on March 4.

This was the first week the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was added to the county’s vaccine distribution data, but as of Thursday, none of the 900 received doses had been administered. The county announced Thursday evening that 570 doses had been wasted due to a faulty transfer between Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and LMH Health. On Friday afternoon, the health department announced that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment would send 600 replacement doses.

The most recent vaccine distribution data shows that the four aforementioned organizations have administered 25,648 of the 29,965 first doses they have received, or around 85.6%. The four organizations have also administered 12,974 of the 18,227 second doses they have received, or around 71.2%.

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 38,622 total doses as of Thursday. That’s an increase of 6,041 doses since data was last reported on March 4.

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.