TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced Wednesday the launch of the “Find My Vaccine” mapping tool, designed to help Kansans locate sites that are administering vaccines in their communities. 

<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/">Click here to </a>use the new tool on the Kansas’s COVID-19 vaccine website and <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/160/Find-My-Vaccine">Click here </a>to get more details on vaccine.

Kansans in vaccine phase 1 and 2 are recommended to use this tool as a resource for finding providers who are or will be offering the vaccine.

“The ‘find my vaccine’ mapping tool allows any Kansan, regardless of where they live, to find the closest vaccine provider to their community,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“The national shortage continues to be the biggest obstacle to delivering vaccines, and that means, many of our enrolled providers do not yet have sufficient vaccines to offer to the general public. But we know it’s better to be ahead of the curve and have this platform ready to go before supply has caught up, so that every Kansan is familiar with the tool and so we can be prepared as more providers are activated.”

The Kansas&nbsp;Find My Vaccine tool&nbsp;allows Kansans to:

The tool includes locations that are participating in administering COVID-19 vaccines and have provided their information to share with the general public. As federal supply increases, Find My Vaccine will evolve to support the COVID-19 vaccination effort by listing more providers and linking to details and scheduling opportunities as they become available. As the vaccine supply continues to grow, the State asks all enrolled providers who intend to vaccinate the general public to provide their information for Kansans to see in Find My Vaccine. 

Vaccines are being delivered to all 105 Kansas counties on a weekly basis, but not all providers may be listed on the map at this time. If you do not see an active location in your area - and you are in Phase 1 or 2 - ask your&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.1ph59dP5HLY3U8RnYzWhr9P3g-RX5SY7QQB-Uk4ZJvc/s/1303160919/br/96998253223-l" target="_blank">local health department</a>&nbsp;how to access the vaccine.&nbsp; Weekly vaccine allocations for each county are available on the&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.L2IBkzmD-wZ4LCb8YmsxAnu8XmXzyPJGa6EGqOBpTnI/s/1303160919/br/96998253223-l" target="_blank">KS COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1610104544544.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced Wednesday the launch of the “Find My Vaccine” mapping tool, designed to help Kansans locate sites that are administering vaccines in their communities. <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/">Click here to </a>use the new tool on the Kansas’s COVID-19 vaccine website and <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/160/Find-My-Vaccine">Click here </a>to get more details on vaccine.Kansans in vaccine phase 1 and 2 are recommended to use this tool as a resource for finding providers who are or will be offering the vaccine.“The ‘find my vaccine’ mapping tool allows any Kansan, regardless of where they live, to find the closest vaccine provider to their community,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said.&nbsp;“The national shortage continues to be the biggest obstacle to delivering vaccines, and that means, many of our enrolled providers do not yet have sufficient vaccines to offer to the general public. But we know it’s better to be ahead of the curve and have this platform ready to go before supply has caught up, so that every Kansan is familiar with the tool and so we can be prepared as more providers are activated.”The Kansas&nbsp;Find My Vaccine tool&nbsp;allows Kansans to:<ol>
 <li>Look up nearby COVID-19 vaccine locations</li><li>Identify which locations have recently received vaccine doses</li><li>Access contact information for each location to confirm eligibility and availability</li>
 </ol>The tool includes locations that are participating in administering COVID-19 vaccines and have provided their information to share with the general public. As federal supply increases, Find My Vaccine will evolve to support the COVID-19 vaccination effort by listing more providers and linking to details and scheduling opportunities as they become available. As the vaccine supply continues to grow, the State asks all enrolled providers who intend to vaccinate the general public to provide their information for Kansans to see in Find My Vaccine. Vaccines are being delivered to all 105 Kansas counties on a weekly basis, but not all providers may be listed on the map at this time. If you do not see an active location in your area - and you are in Phase 1 or 2 - ask your&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.1ph59dP5HLY3U8RnYzWhr9P3g-RX5SY7QQB-Uk4ZJvc/s/1303160919/br/96998253223-l" target="_blank">local health department</a>&nbsp;how to access the vaccine.&nbsp; Weekly vaccine allocations for each county are available on the&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.L2IBkzmD-wZ4LCb8YmsxAnu8XmXzyPJGa6EGqOBpTnI/s/1303160919/br/96998253223-l" target="_blank">KS COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard</a>.

Kansas launches new 'Find My Vaccine' online tool

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 373 as of Tuesday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 121.

The Correctional Facility cluster type has 15 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 77 active cases. Forty-seven people within those clusters have died. There are 20 active clusters in the county.

Out of 7,526 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 361 cases in the community at large. 7,032 people have recovered thus far.

Six Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred fifty two total have been hospitalized. One hundred two have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized.

The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.30%. 37.07% of the population has been tested.

There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
download the HutchPost mobile app.

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1593790914635.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 373 as of Tuesday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 121.The Correctional Facility cluster type has 15 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 77 active cases. Forty-seven people within those clusters have died. There are 20 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,526 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 361 cases in the community at large. 7,032 people have recovered thus far.Six Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred fifty two total have been hospitalized. One hundred two have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized.The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.30%. 37.07% of the population has been tested.There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
download the HutchPost mobile app.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.

Case count at 373, with 361 in community, 121 dead as of Tuesday afternoon

HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
Kroger has been selected to participate in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership plan announced February 2, 2021.

This includes select Dillons Pharmacies in Kansas with very limited doses of the Moderna vaccine. Two of those are going to be in Hutchinson at the 5th and Adams Dillons and at the 30th Street Dillons Marketplace.

This new component of the federal vaccination plan from the Biden administration will assist in speeding much-needed vaccine to local communities. 

At this time, 22 Dillons Pharmacy locations have been selected to received very limited doses per location each week, beginning on February 11, 2021. 

 Dillons Pharmacy has been asked to expand their capabilities in scheduling appointments and new locations as supply grows.  Additional details to follow as soon as they are available.

Dillons pharmacies expect to have vaccine in hand February 11, 2021 and will begin allowing appointments via the online scheduler at <a href="https://www.dillons.com/i/coronavirus-update/vaccine">www.dillons.com/covidvaccine.</a> Appointments are mandatory to receive a vaccine.

These vaccines will be administered following the specific phased guidelines active in each county at the time of release as determined by each local health department. If appointments are made by individuals outside the local county guidance, the pharmacy is required to cancel the appointment and turn away individuals who show up and do not meet the criteria.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1605532144900.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Release from DillonsHUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
Kroger has been selected to participate in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Partnership plan announced February 2, 2021.This includes select Dillons Pharmacies in Kansas with very limited doses of the Moderna vaccine. Two of those are going to be in Hutchinson at the 5th and Adams Dillons and at the 30th Street Dillons Marketplace.This new component of the federal vaccination plan from the Biden administration will assist in speeding much-needed vaccine to local communities. At this time, 22 Dillons Pharmacy locations have been selected to received very limited doses per location each week, beginning on February 11, 2021. Dillons Pharmacy has been asked to expand their capabilities in scheduling appointments and new locations as supply grows. Additional details to follow as soon as they are available.Dillons pharmacies expect to have vaccine in hand February 11, 2021 and will begin allowing appointments via the online scheduler at <a href="https://www.dillons.com/i/coronavirus-update/vaccine">www.dillons.com/covidvaccine.</a> Appointments are mandatory to receive a vaccine. These vaccines will be administered following the specific phased guidelines active in each county at the time of release as determined by each local health department. If appointments are made by individuals outside the local county guidance, the pharmacy is required to cancel the appointment and turn away individuals who show up and do not meet the criteria.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
download the HutchPost mobile app.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.

Dillons pharmacies in Hutch will be part of federal COVID-19 vaccine program


HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
Another COVID-19 vaccination clinic is planned for this Friday in Hutchinson at the Sports Arena from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"We will schedule 800 vaccines," said Karen Hammersmith with the Reno County Health Department. "These are for Phase 2. We are still focusing on 2a, that is persons age 65 and older. Other groups in Phase 2 would be congregate settings and then high contact critical workers. We are not to those yet."

A release from the county said over 6000 people have been put on the waiting list. There is still a supply issue.

"We will be scheduling the 800 people for vaccines this Friday," Hammersmith said. "It is not a walk in clinic. These will be scheduled. People that have signed up should expect a phone call to let them know if they are one of the 800 people that would be scheduled. They would be people over the age of 65 with comorbidities."

It is a two dose series. 690 doses were given last week.

"We do keep the list, it remains," Hammersmith said. "They do not need to re-sign up. They will be contacted for future vaccination clinics."

If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so online, or call the Health Department at 844-834-3657 or 620-259-3547.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611951564706.jpeg" alt="Photo Courtesy Reno County" />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Reno County</figcaption>
 </figure>
By
NICK GOSNELL
Hutch
Post
HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
Another COVID-19 vaccination clinic is planned for this Friday in Hutchinson at the Sports Arena from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m."We will schedule 800 vaccines," said Karen Hammersmith with the Reno County Health Department. "These are for Phase 2. We are still focusing on 2a, that is persons age 65 and older. Other groups in Phase 2 would be congregate settings and then high contact critical workers. We are not to those yet."A release from the county said over 6000 people have been put on the waiting list. There is still a supply issue."We will be scheduling the 800 people for vaccines this Friday," Hammersmith said. "It is not a walk in clinic. These will be scheduled. People that have signed up should expect a phone call to let them know if they are one of the 800 people that would be scheduled. They would be people over the age of 65 with comorbidities."It is a two dose series. 690 doses were given last week."We do keep the list, it remains," Hammersmith said. "They do not need to re-sign up. They will be contacted for future vaccination clinics."If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so online, or call the Health Department at 844-834-3657 or 620-259-3547.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
download the HutchPost mobile app.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.

Another COVID-19 vaccination clinic Friday at Sports Arena, 800 shots to be given

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 399 as of Monday evening. The death count among Reno County residents is at 117.

The Correctional Facility cluster type has 20 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 78 active cases. Forty-five people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.

Out of 7,520 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 380 cases in the community at large. 7,004 people have recovered thus far.

Fifteen Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred fifty two total have been hospitalized. One hundred two have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.

The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.31%. 37.03% of the population has been tested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1593790914635.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 399 as of Monday evening. The death count among Reno County residents is at 117.The Correctional Facility cluster type has 20 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 78 active cases. Forty-five people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,520 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 380 cases in the community at large. 7,004 people have recovered thus far.Fifteen Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred fifty two total have been hospitalized. One hundred two have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.31%. 37.03% of the population has been tested.There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Case count at 399, with 380 in community as of Monday evening, 117 dead

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 393 as of Sunday evening. The death count among Reno County residents is at 116.

Out of 7,496 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 373 cases in the community at large. 6,987 people have recovered thus far.

Fifteen Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred fifty one total have been hospitalized. One hundred one have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.

The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.30%. 36.92% of the population has been tested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595202434504.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 393 as of Sunday evening. The death count among Reno County residents is at 116.The Correctional Facility cluster type has 20 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 78 active cases. Forty-five people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,496 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 373 cases in the community at large. 6,987 people have recovered thus far.Fifteen Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred fifty one total have been hospitalized. One hundred one have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.30%. 36.92% of the population has been tested.There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Case count at 393, with 373 in community and deaths at 116 as of Sunday evening

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 401 as of Saturday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 116. Thirteen people have died in the last 30 days. 

Out of 7,487 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 382 cases in the community at large. 6,970 people have recovered thus far.

Twelve Reno County residents are in the hospital. Three hundred fifty total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized.

The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.32%. 36.79% of the population has been tested.

There are now two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595202434504.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 401 as of Saturday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 116. Thirteen people have died in the last 30 days. The Correctional Facility cluster type has 20 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 78 active cases. Forty-five people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,487 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 382 cases in the community at large. 6,970 people have recovered thus far.Twelve Reno County residents are in the hospital. Three hundred fifty total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized.The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.32%. 36.79% of the population has been tested.There are now two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Case count at 401, with 382 in community as of Saturday afternoon, deaths at 116

By NOMIN UJIYEDIIN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-01-26/the-emotional-strain-of-the-pandemic-is-taking-its-toll-on-kansas-health-care-workers">Kansas News Service</a>

Sometimes, Becky Angell doesn’t even realize she’s started crying.

She’s
 been a nurse for seven years, and worked in an intensive care unit in 
Olathe for the past two. She loves her job and is used to seeing people 
die.

But the past months of caring for one desperately ill 
COVID-19 patient after another have left her overwhelmed and in tears at
 the dinner table and on the drive home from work.

“It’s this 
helpless, worthless feeling that you’re doing everything you can do and 
this patient is still not thriving,” Angell said. “It’s like endlessly 
treading water with no land in sight.”

As the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-11-18/with-hospitals-reeling-kansas-gov-kelly-makes-second-push-to-tame-coronavirus-with-masks" target="_blank">pandemic’s worst months</a>
 have stretched on in Kansas, many people who treat coronavirus patients
 have continued to feel the strain. The stress of watching so many 
people die, the fear of bringing the virus home to loved ones and the 
frustration of seeing people without masks have left health care 
workers, a group that already struggles with mental health, frazzled and
 emotionally drained.

Angell has trouble sleeping and sometimes 
loses her train of thought during conversations. She’s considering 
asking her doctor for antidepressants. She used to relieve stress by 
hanging out with her friends and coworkers. Lately, they’ve talked on 
social media and through group chats, but it’s not the same.

Usually,
 patients in an ICU get better and move on to other units. But the 
coronavirus has changed that. Now, when Angell sees elderly, 
COVID-positive people enter her unit, she assumes they won’t leave 
alive.

She went through a two-day stretch where only one of
 her patients survived. Meanwhile, she still comes across people who 
don’t wear masks or believe in science, including one couple she treated
 who tested positive for COVID but still didn’t believe in the virus.

“You’re
 kind of like, ‘What am I busting my buns at work for to keep people 
alive, if they’re just going to keep going out and making silly choices 
that put everybody in danger?’” she said. “You just kind of feel like 
you’re screaming into the wind.”

The stress of seeing patients die
 is getting to Dr. Hazen Short, too. He’s a family medicine physician 
who works in Kansas City, Kansas, and moonlights as an emergency room 
doctor in south-central and southeastern Kansas. Usually, small, rural 
ER shifts are calmer than those in larger hospitals. But not during the 
pandemic. Short has seen a few patients die as soon as they come into 
the ER. He’s noticed fewer people in rural parts of Kansas wear masks, 
even though some of those areas have been hit hard by the virus. And 
he’s worried about bringing the virus home to his wife and child.

“The
 hardest thing is the days before the shift. Because I know I have to go
 and I don’t know what I’m going to see,” he said. “I get very anxious 
before my shifts start and then I have trouble unwinding after.”

Short has tried relaxation techniques, and is thinking of going to 
therapy for the first time. His anxiety feels like a buzzing in his 
chest and head that sometimes he can’t get rid of. It can be hard to 
stop thinking about the family members who are told about their loved 
ones’ deaths over the phone. Or thinking: what he could have done 
differently to save someone’s life?

“You think about the patients 
that were really sick, and then, ‘Well, maybe I could have started this 
antibiotic or done this test instead of that,’” he said. “It’s 
impossible to be perfect, and I understand that. But it’s something that
 most physicians go through.”

Physicians have long had <a href="https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2018.131101" target="_blank">worse mental health</a>
 than the general public, said Dr. Srijan Sen, a professor at the 
University of Michigan. High-pressure training, long hours and an 
increasing administrative workload have contributed to higher rates of 
depression, anxiety and suicide among doctors, even before the pandemic.

<a href="https://1329574c-75a7-ab97-2a46-2b33890df3e6.filesusr.com/ugd/3fdf20_20ac720c01474568a62a9724ada86876.pdf" target="_blank">Research suggests</a> the pandemic has taken its toll, Sen said, especially now that early efforts to praise health care workers have faded.

“Fatigue has set in,” Sen said. “We’re seeing probably worse mental health among physicians than we’ve ever seen before.”

Health care workers often worry about a <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1815.long" target="_blank">stigma</a> about getting mental health treatment, both feelings that they internalize and that they feel colleagues might harbor.

“We
 care for others much more than we care for ourselves,” said Dr. Jessi 
Gold, a psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis who 
specializes in treating health care workers. “We don’t go get care 
because asking for help for that is a weakness.”

Gold thinks that 
hospitals and other employers could combat that perception by 
automatically signing up all employees for counseling, and letting 
people cancel if they don’t need it. Employers could also offer grants 
to cover the costs of mental health treatment, she said. Custodians, 
social workers, respiratory therapists, administrative staff and others 
are exposed to COVID at work, but aren’t paid as highly as doctors and 
nurses. There’s also not as much research about those groups.

“Health care workers come from a spectrum of financial backgrounds,” she said.

The
 Midwest saw its surge in cases later than some other parts of the 
country, meaning that many health care workers in the region experienced
 the anxiety of anticipation before COVID hit, Gold said.

Now that
 the virus has become so widespread, she’s worried the mental health 
system won’t be able to handle the flood of traumatized people likely to
 seek help after the pandemic is over.

“It’s like, if there was a 
storm and everybody walked outside and surveyed the damage, and then 
after surveying the damage, they took a deep breath and looked at 
themselves — that’s what's going to happen,” she said. “And then we’re 
going to see a huge influx of people.”

Nomin Ujiyediin reports 
on criminal justice and social welfare for the Kansas News Service. You 
can email her at nomin@kcur.org and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/nominuj" target="_blank">@NominUJ</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611758677381.png" alt="Months of constant patient deaths and people refusing to believe in the virus have worn out health care workers. Nomin Ujiyediin / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Months of constant patient deaths and people refusing to believe in the virus have worn out health care workers. Nomin Ujiyediin / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOMIN UJIYEDIIN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-01-26/the-emotional-strain-of-the-pandemic-is-taking-its-toll-on-kansas-health-care-workers">Kansas News Service</a>Sometimes, Becky Angell doesn’t even realize she’s started crying.She’s
 been a nurse for seven years, and worked in an intensive care unit in 
Olathe for the past two. She loves her job and is used to seeing people 
die.But the past months of caring for one desperately ill 
COVID-19 patient after another have left her overwhelmed and in tears at
 the dinner table and on the drive home from work.“It’s this 
helpless, worthless feeling that you’re doing everything you can do and 
this patient is still not thriving,” Angell said. “It’s like endlessly 
treading water with no land in sight.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611758747763.png" alt="Olathe ICU nurse Becky Angell says she's had trouble sleeping during the pandemic. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Olathe ICU nurse Becky Angell says she's had trouble sleeping during the pandemic. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>As the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-11-18/with-hospitals-reeling-kansas-gov-kelly-makes-second-push-to-tame-coronavirus-with-masks" target="_blank">pandemic’s worst months</a>
 have stretched on in Kansas, many people who treat coronavirus patients
 have continued to feel the strain. The stress of watching so many 
people die, the fear of bringing the virus home to loved ones and the 
frustration of seeing people without masks have left health care 
workers, a group that already struggles with mental health, frazzled and
 emotionally drained.Angell has trouble sleeping and sometimes 
loses her train of thought during conversations. She’s considering 
asking her doctor for antidepressants. She used to relieve stress by 
hanging out with her friends and coworkers. Lately, they’ve talked on 
social media and through group chats, but it’s not the same.Usually,
 patients in an ICU get better and move on to other units. But the 
coronavirus has changed that. Now, when Angell sees elderly, 
COVID-positive people enter her unit, she assumes they won’t leave 
alive.She went through a two-day stretch where only one of
 her patients survived. Meanwhile, she still comes across people who 
don’t wear masks or believe in science, including one couple she treated
 who tested positive for COVID but still didn’t believe in the virus.“You’re
 kind of like, ‘What am I busting my buns at work for to keep people 
alive, if they’re just going to keep going out and making silly choices 
that put everybody in danger?’” she said. “You just kind of feel like 
you’re screaming into the wind.”The stress of seeing patients die
 is getting to Dr. Hazen Short, too. He’s a family medicine physician 
who works in Kansas City, Kansas, and moonlights as an emergency room 
doctor in south-central and southeastern Kansas. Usually, small, rural 
ER shifts are calmer than those in larger hospitals. But not during the 
pandemic. Short has seen a few patients die as soon as they come into 
the ER. He’s noticed fewer people in rural parts of Kansas wear masks, 
even though some of those areas have been hit hard by the virus. And 
he’s worried about bringing the virus home to his wife and child.“The
 hardest thing is the days before the shift. Because I know I have to go
 and I don’t know what I’m going to see,” he said. “I get very anxious 
before my shifts start and then I have trouble unwinding after.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611758783538.png" alt="Dr. Hazen Short works in emergency rooms in rural parts of Kansas, where he sees many people not wearing masks. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Hazen Short works in emergency rooms in rural parts of Kansas, where he sees many people not wearing masks. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Short has tried relaxation techniques, and is thinking of going to 
therapy for the first time. His anxiety feels like a buzzing in his 
chest and head that sometimes he can’t get rid of. It can be hard to 
stop thinking about the family members who are told about their loved 
ones’ deaths over the phone. Or thinking: what he could have done 
differently to save someone’s life?“You think about the patients 
that were really sick, and then, ‘Well, maybe I could have started this 
antibiotic or done this test instead of that,’” he said. “It’s 
impossible to be perfect, and I understand that. But it’s something that
 most physicians go through.”Physicians have long had <a href="https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2018.131101" target="_blank">worse mental health</a>
 than the general public, said Dr. Srijan Sen, a professor at the 
University of Michigan. High-pressure training, long hours and an 
increasing administrative workload have contributed to higher rates of 
depression, anxiety and suicide among doctors, even before the pandemic.<a href="https://1329574c-75a7-ab97-2a46-2b33890df3e6.filesusr.com/ugd/3fdf20_20ac720c01474568a62a9724ada86876.pdf" target="_blank">Research suggests</a> the pandemic has taken its toll, Sen said, especially now that early efforts to praise health care workers have faded.“Fatigue has set in,” Sen said. “We’re seeing probably worse mental health among physicians than we’ve ever seen before.”Health care workers often worry about a <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1815.long" target="_blank">stigma</a> about getting mental health treatment, both feelings that they internalize and that they feel colleagues might harbor.“We
 care for others much more than we care for ourselves,” said Dr. Jessi 
Gold, a psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis who 
specializes in treating health care workers. “We don’t go get care 
because asking for help for that is a weakness.”Gold thinks that 
hospitals and other employers could combat that perception by 
automatically signing up all employees for counseling, and letting 
people cancel if they don’t need it. Employers could also offer grants 
to cover the costs of mental health treatment, she said. Custodians, 
social workers, respiratory therapists, administrative staff and others 
are exposed to COVID at work, but aren’t paid as highly as doctors and 
nurses. There’s also not as much research about those groups.“Health care workers come from a spectrum of financial backgrounds,” she said.The
 Midwest saw its surge in cases later than some other parts of the 
country, meaning that many health care workers in the region experienced
 the anxiety of anticipation before COVID hit, Gold said.Now that
 the virus has become so widespread, she’s worried the mental health 
system won’t be able to handle the flood of traumatized people likely to
 seek help after the pandemic is over.“It’s like, if there was a 
storm and everybody walked outside and surveyed the damage, and then 
after surveying the damage, they took a deep breath and looked at 
themselves — that’s what's going to happen,” she said. “And then we’re 
going to see a huge influx of people.”Nomin Ujiyediin reports 
on criminal justice and social welfare for the Kansas News Service. You 
can email her at nomin@kcur.org and follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/nominuj" target="_blank">@NominUJ</a>.

Pandemic takes an emotional toll on Kansas health care workers

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Hutchinson Sports Arena Friday went off as planned, with help from county employees and volunteers. It took about 60 people to get the 700 who were at the top of the list vaccinated.

"I am one of the elderly high risk transplant persons who have long been waiting on the vaccine shot," said Richard Kennedy in an email to Hutch Post. "I was amazed how well it was organized and how easy the process was.  They went above and beyond helping anyone with assistance into the facility, registration, and the actual shot.  Then they assisted you into the arena and help you find a seat to wait out your time of observation to be sure you are doing well."

Reno County Commissioner Daniel Friesen took time to talk to those who had received their vaccination while they were waiting out their observation time.

"What a pleasant experience with people who were very caring, friendly, and helpful, Kennedy said.&nbsp; "They made the apprehensive situation much more enjoyable."

Over 4,000 people preregistered before the Friday clinic. <a href="https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/01998f35f69046e0afb508d6da1ffad3">Enter your information here to get on the list.</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611951564706.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy Reno County" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Reno County</figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Hutchinson Sports Arena Friday went off as planned, with help from county employees and volunteers. It took about 60 people to get the 700 who were at the top of the list vaccinated."I am one of the elderly high risk transplant persons who have long been waiting on the vaccine shot," said Richard Kennedy in an email to Hutch Post. "I was amazed how well it was organized and how easy the process was. They went above and beyond helping anyone with assistance into the facility, registration, and the actual shot. Then they assisted you into the arena and help you find a seat to wait out your time of observation to be sure you are doing well."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611951850223.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy Reno County" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Reno County</figcaption>
 </figure>Reno County Commissioner Daniel Friesen took time to talk to those who had received their vaccination while they were waiting out their observation time."What a pleasant experience with people who were very caring, friendly, and helpful, Kennedy said.&nbsp; "They made the apprehensive situation much more enjoyable."Over 4,000 people preregistered before the Friday clinic. <a href="https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/01998f35f69046e0afb508d6da1ffad3">Enter your information here to get on the list.</a>

Vaccine clinic for seniors Friday a success

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 407 as of Friday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 115.

Out of 7,473 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 389 cases in the community at large. 6,951 people have recovered thus far.

Twelve Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred fifty total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1593790914635.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 407 as of Friday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 115.The Correctional Facility cluster type has 20 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 78 active cases. Forty-five people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,473 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 389 cases in the community at large. 6,951 people have recovered thus far.Twelve Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred fifty total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.32%. 36.79% of the population has been tested.There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Case count at 407, with 389 in community as of Friday afternoon, deaths now at 115


HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
Though vaccinations have begun in earnest on Friday for those 65 and over in Reno County, Karen Hammersmith with the Reno County Health Department simply doesn't know when they'll get more vaccine in.

"We really depend on just emails and then when it shows up," Hammersmith said. "Sometimes that's the day before. Hopefully, that will be improving with KDHE, but that's what we're looking at right now."

Also, the lots of vaccine they are getting are nowhere near the demand they have, with 700 doses given on Friday.

"The process has kind of changed through the weeks and will probably continue to evolve," Hammersmith said. "It might involve pharmacies in the future, as well. Just like you get your flu shot, if you could get that vaccine everywhere. At this point in time, though, all vaccines are being sent to the Reno County Health Department."

The Reno County Medical Collaborative is working together to be sure no high risk older adult gets missed.

"There are high risk people and we wanted to be able to pull them in," Hammersmith said. "The clinics in town here, which would be the Hutch Clinic and Prairie Star, they would have electronic medical records. Those are the type of things that we can use in those groups. What we don't have is people that don't have a primary care provider and we don't want to leave those people out. We're working together to try to stratify those lists."

Stratification means deciding who gets the shot and in what order.

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the HutchPost mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1606243325401.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>
By
NICK GOSNELL
Hutch
Post
HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
Though vaccinations have begun in earnest on Friday for those 65 and over in Reno County, Karen Hammersmith with the Reno County Health Department simply doesn't know when they'll get more vaccine in."We really depend on just emails and then when it shows up," Hammersmith said. "Sometimes that's the day before. Hopefully, that will be improving with KDHE, but that's what we're looking at right now."Also, the lots of vaccine they are getting are nowhere near the demand they have, with 700 doses given on Friday."The process has kind of changed through the weeks and will probably continue to evolve," Hammersmith said. "It might involve pharmacies in the future, as well. Just like you get your flu shot, if you could get that vaccine everywhere. At this point in time, though, all vaccines are being sent to the Reno County Health Department."The Reno County Medical Collaborative is working together to be sure no high risk older adult gets missed."There are high risk people and we wanted to be able to pull them in," Hammersmith said. "The clinics in town here, which would be the Hutch Clinic and Prairie Star, they would have electronic medical records. Those are the type of things that we can use in those groups. What we don't have is people that don't have a primary care provider and we don't want to leave those people out. We're working together to try to stratify those lists."Stratification means deciding who gets the shot and in what order.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the HutchPost mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Hammersmith: Despite large vaccination event Friday, COVID shot availability still unpredictable


HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — Reno County remains in Phase 2 and is currently vaccinating ages 65 and over. The Reno County Health Department has received over 4,000 pre-registrations for the vaccine as of Thursday morning. 

Over a dozen staff and volunteers have been answering the phones to take pre-registrations and schedule appointments. The first 700 vaccinations have already been scheduled for Friday, January 29th at the Sports Arena. 

Pre-registrants who have not yet been called will be contacted for future vaccination events. Please note the vaccination site on Friday will NOT be accepting walk-ins.

The Health Department continues to work with the Reno County Medical Collaborative to distribute the vaccine expediently and equitably. For information on the vaccine or to pre-register, visit the <a href="https://www.renogov.org/741/COVID-19">Reno County website</a> or call 844-834-3657.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1608739574842.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>
HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — Reno County remains in Phase 2 and is currently vaccinating ages 65 and over. The Reno County Health Department has received over 4,000 pre-registrations for the vaccine as of Thursday morning. Over a dozen staff and volunteers have been answering the phones to take pre-registrations and schedule appointments. The first 700 vaccinations have already been scheduled for Friday, January 29th at the Sports Arena. Pre-registrants who have not yet been called will be contacted for future vaccination events. Please note the vaccination site on Friday will NOT be accepting walk-ins.The Health Department continues to work with the Reno County Medical Collaborative to distribute the vaccine expediently and equitably. For information on the vaccine or to pre-register, visit the <a href="https://www.renogov.org/741/COVID-19">Reno County website</a> or call 844-834-3657.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
download the HutchPost mobile app.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.

Reno County vaccination clinic has filled all 700 appointments for Friday

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 420 as of Thursday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 114.

The Correctional Facility cluster type has 27 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 72 active cases. Forty-four people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.

Out of 7,455 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 401 cases in the community at large. 6,921 people have recovered thus far.

Thirteen Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred forty-nine total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.

The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.33%. 36.69% of the population has been tested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1593790914635.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 420 as of Thursday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 114.The Correctional Facility cluster type has 27 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 72 active cases. Forty-four people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,455 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 401 cases in the community at large. 6,921 people have recovered thus far.Thirteen Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred forty-nine total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.The community's positive test rate is at 27.62%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.33%. 36.69% of the population has been tested.There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the HutchPost mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Case count at 420, with 401 in community as of Thursday afternoon, deaths at 114


HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
If you follow the county's COVID-19 dashboard regularly, you may have noticed that some areas of the site, particularly the community positive test rate, haven't changed in recent days. That's because updating some portions of the dashboard was put on the back burner because of other priorities recently.

"I like to do it twice a week," said county data analyst DJ Gering. "The problem with this last two weeks, I haven't done it, and that's just because I've been tied up in the vaccine prep and vaccination planning. My goal this week is to get back on track and get all of that data cleaned up so I can start updating that more regularly again."

It's important to remember that Gering has to do the updating himself for certain areas of the dashboard where the data is entered locally.

"I'm only one person," Gering said. "It's difficult for me to get to everything all the time, especially right now. I think that now that there's a vaccine plan in place and we're able to have these processes there, I think I can get back into the data cleanup and updating far more often than I was."

Though data that comes in from outside, like from KDHE can in some respects go in automatically, Gering still has checks and balances in the system.

"Part of it still is manual," Gering said. "I have what's called a quality assurance check. There are certain variables or fields that are sometimes missed or often missed. When they are, that prints out on a report and then I get into those records."

The death number changes either when patients in the local hospital who are being monitored as local cases die. If local officials are unsure, they wait on verification from KDHE through death certificates that are sent to the office of vital statistics, so it is possible that someone could die and the family would know it was from COVID-19, but that number might not change immediately, either because they are between checks or because they are waiting for verification.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589472383275.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>
By
NICK GOSNELL
Hutch
Post
HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
If you follow the county's COVID-19 dashboard regularly, you may have noticed that some areas of the site, particularly the community positive test rate, haven't changed in recent days. That's because updating some portions of the dashboard was put on the back burner because of other priorities recently."I like to do it twice a week," said county data analyst DJ Gering. "The problem with this last two weeks, I haven't done it, and that's just because I've been tied up in the vaccine prep and vaccination planning. My goal this week is to get back on track and get all of that data cleaned up so I can start updating that more regularly again."It's important to remember that Gering has to do the updating himself for certain areas of the dashboard where the data is entered locally."I'm only one person," Gering said. "It's difficult for me to get to everything all the time, especially right now. I think that now that there's a vaccine plan in place and we're able to have these processes there, I think I can get back into the data cleanup and updating far more often than I was."Though data that comes in from outside, like from KDHE can in some respects go in automatically, Gering still has checks and balances in the system."Part of it still is manual," Gering said. "I have what's called a quality assurance check. There are certain variables or fields that are sometimes missed or often missed. When they are, that prints out on a report and then I get into those records."The death number changes either when patients in the local hospital who are being monitored as local cases die. If local officials are unsure, they wait on verification from KDHE through death certificates that are sent to the office of vital statistics, so it is possible that someone could die and the family would know it was from COVID-19, but that number might not change immediately, either because they are between checks or because they are waiting for verification.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
download the HutchPost mobile app.
<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK
HERE</a>&nbsp;to
sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.

Gering: Vaccination plan diverted some attention from dashboard updates

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 433 as of Wednesday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 114.

Out of 7,437 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 411 cases in the community at large. 6,890 people have recovered thus far.

Eleven Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred forty-three total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.

The community's positive test rate is at 27.24%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.37%. 36.56% of the population has been tested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595202434504.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 433 as of Wednesday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 114.The Correctional Facility cluster type has 27 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 72 active cases. Forty-four people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,437 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 411 cases in the community at large. 6,890 people have recovered thus far.Eleven Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred forty-three total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.The community's positive test rate is at 27.24%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.37%. 36.56% of the population has been tested.There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the HutchPost mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Case count at 433, with 411 in community as of Wednesday, death count at 114

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators suggested Tuesday that mistakes by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration are making it more difficult for older Kansas residents to get COVID-19 vaccine shots.

But Dr. Lee Norman, the head of the state health department and Kelly’s top public health administrator, said the biggest problem Kansas faces in administering the vaccines is “there’s just not enough.” He acknowledged during a joint meeting of the House and Senate health committees that he can’t predict how long it will take for the state to inoculate enough people to say it no longer faces a pandemic emergency.

Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature have grown increasingly critical of Kelly and the state Department of Health and Environment, peppering Norman with pointed questions during Tuesday’s meeting. One GOP lawmaker even argued that Kansas was wrong to focus on vaccinating health care workers first, rather than people 65 and older.

“I’ve never felt like our leadership, the Kelly administration, the KDHE, has learned lessons from this virus and adapted strategies to it,” said freshman Sen. Mark Steffen, a Hutchinson Republican and a physician, who didn’t wear a mask at Tuesday’s socially distanced meeting and said he doubts the effectiveness of mask wearing, despite a growing scientific consensus that masks provide protection for others as well as those wearing them.

The Democratic governor and Republican legislators have been sparring for months over the state’s response to the pandemic, but GOP lawmakers have recently focused on what they see as a slow and rocky vaccine distribution.

Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, said he wants to see the state get to the point where there are enough people who have been vaccinated or had COVID-19 and developed immunity to “getting our economy back in shape.” Norman said those two groups would have to cover at least 85% of the population — close to 2.5 million people, or nearly 10 times the 255,550 vaccine does the state says it has received so far.

“I understand that there are supply chain issues, but I think we need to get the access out to the people as fast as possible,” said Thompson, who declines to wear a mask because, he says, he suffers from asthma.

Norman, who testified by WebEx, said Kansas has received its full allotment of vaccine doses from the federal government but just doesn’t have enough to gives shots as quickly as people want them.

Kelly announced last week that Kansas was entering its second phase of vaccine distribution, where anyone 65 and older, people in group living situations and “critical” workers are eligible for inoculations. Norman said that could be about 800,000 of the state’s 2.9 million residents, or 27%.

“We are ordering everything that is allocated to us, and here in recent weeks we’ve been getting everything we’ve ordered,” Norman said. “But there’s no way on the planet that that’s enough vaccine.”

Republican legislators have cited U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showing Kansas lagging behind other states in vaccination rates.&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations" target="_blank">A CDC report Tuesday&nbsp;</a>showed Kansas ranking 47th for doses administered per 100,000 residents, ahead of only Alabama, Idaho and Nevada.

The state health department reported that nearly 158,000 vaccine doses had been administered as of Monday; the CDC’s figure is slightly higher.

<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data" target="_blank">Kansas reports</a>&nbsp;that it has administered almost 62% of the vaccine doses it has received so far — something Norman touted as a sign that the administration of inoculations is on track.

However, the CDC said the state actually has received about 348,000 doses, which would put the percentage administered at roughly 45%. State officials said the CDC figures include doses shipped to pharmacies but not received for nursing home workers and residents.

House health committee Chair Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, questioned a state health department policy allowing residents of one county to go to another to get vaccinated, suggesting it sows confusion. Norman defended it, saying it has allowed counties to keep administering shots to health care workers so they weren’t without protections.

Kelly and other state officials have said repeatedly that Kansas is following CDC guidelines in deciding when people are eligible for inoculations. But Steffen argued that Kansas should have put a priority on vaccinating older residents even ahead of health care workers.

About 25% of the people vaccinated have been 65 or older. While that group accounted for about 15% of the state’s more than 269,000 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases through Monday, it had nearly 86% of the state’s 3,622 deaths, with one death for every 13 reported cases.

“If you give it to a bunch of health care workers and you’re just protecting them from flu symptoms, rather than giving it to people who you could save their life, that’s questionable,” Steffen said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611752735957.png" alt="Total doses administered <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations__">reported to the </a>CDC by State per 100,000-CDC image" />
 <figcaption>Total doses administered <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations__">reported to the </a>CDC by State per 100,000-CDC image</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators suggested Tuesday that mistakes by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration are making it more difficult for older Kansas residents to get COVID-19 vaccine shots.(Watch Tuesday's hearing below)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o9XyAclr57w" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>But Dr. Lee Norman, the head of the state health department and Kelly’s top public health administrator, said the biggest problem Kansas faces in administering the vaccines is “there’s just not enough.” He acknowledged during a joint meeting of the House and Senate health committees that he can’t predict how long it will take for the state to inoculate enough people to say it no longer faces a pandemic emergency.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611753536468.png" alt="Dr. Lee Norman testified Tuesday by WebEx" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Lee Norman testified Tuesday by WebEx</figcaption>
 </figure>Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature have grown increasingly critical of Kelly and the state Department of Health and Environment, peppering Norman with pointed questions during Tuesday’s meeting. One GOP lawmaker even argued that Kansas was wrong to focus on vaccinating health care workers first, rather than people 65 and older.“I’ve never felt like our leadership, the Kelly administration, the KDHE, has learned lessons from this virus and adapted strategies to it,” said freshman Sen. Mark Steffen, a Hutchinson Republican and a physician, who didn’t wear a mask at Tuesday’s socially distanced meeting and said he doubts the effectiveness of mask wearing, despite a growing scientific consensus that masks provide protection for others as well as those wearing them.The Democratic governor and Republican legislators have been sparring for months over the state’s response to the pandemic, but GOP lawmakers have recently focused on what they see as a slow and rocky vaccine distribution.Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, said he wants to see the state get to the point where there are enough people who have been vaccinated or had COVID-19 and developed immunity to “getting our economy back in shape.” Norman said those two groups would have to cover at least 85% of the population — close to 2.5 million people, or nearly 10 times the 255,550 vaccine does the state says it has received so far.“I understand that there are supply chain issues, but I think we need to get the access out to the people as fast as possible,” said Thompson, who declines to wear a mask because, he says, he suffers from asthma.Norman, who testified by WebEx, said Kansas has received its full allotment of vaccine doses from the federal government but just doesn’t have enough to gives shots as quickly as people want them.Kelly announced last week that Kansas was entering its second phase of vaccine distribution, where anyone 65 and older, people in group living situations and “critical” workers are eligible for inoculations. Norman said that could be about 800,000 of the state’s 2.9 million residents, or 27%.“We are ordering everything that is allocated to us, and here in recent weeks we’ve been getting everything we’ve ordered,” Norman said. “But there’s no way on the planet that that’s enough vaccine.”Republican legislators have cited U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showing Kansas lagging behind other states in vaccination rates.&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations" target="_blank">A CDC report Tuesday&nbsp;</a>showed Kansas ranking 47th for doses administered per 100,000 residents, ahead of only Alabama, Idaho and Nevada.The state health department reported that nearly 158,000 vaccine doses had been administered as of Monday; the CDC’s figure is slightly higher.<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data" target="_blank">Kansas reports</a>&nbsp;that it has administered almost 62% of the vaccine doses it has received so far — something Norman touted as a sign that the administration of inoculations is on track.However, the CDC said the state actually has received about 348,000 doses, which would put the percentage administered at roughly 45%. State officials said the CDC figures include doses shipped to pharmacies but not received for nursing home workers and residents.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611753419734.png" alt="Rep. Brenda Landwher during Tuesday's hearing" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Brenda Landwher during Tuesday's hearing</figcaption>
 </figure>House health committee Chair Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, questioned a state health department policy allowing residents of one county to go to another to get vaccinated, suggesting it sows confusion. Norman defended it, saying it has allowed counties to keep administering shots to health care workers so they weren’t without protections.Kelly and other state officials have said repeatedly that Kansas is following CDC guidelines in deciding when people are eligible for inoculations. But Steffen argued that Kansas should have put a priority on vaccinating older residents even ahead of health care workers.About 25% of the people vaccinated have been 65 or older. While that group accounted for about 15% of the state’s more than 269,000 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases through Monday, it had nearly 86% of the state’s 3,622 deaths, with one death for every 13 reported cases.“If you give it to a bunch of health care workers and you’re just protecting them from flu symptoms, rather than giving it to people who you could save their life, that’s questionable,” Steffen said.___

🎥  Kan. lawmakers push for answers on COVID-19, vaccine reporting

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 447 as of Tuesday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 114.

Out of 7,417 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 425 cases in the community at large. 6,856 people have recovered thus far.

Ten Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred forty-one total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.

The community's positive test rate is at 27.24%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.36%. 36.46% of the population has been tested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595202434504.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 447 as of Tuesday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 114.The Correctional Facility cluster type has 27 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 72 active cases. Forty-four people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,417 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 425 cases in the community at large. 6,856 people have recovered thus far.Ten Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred forty-one total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized. Intubation numbers are no longer on the county's dashboard.The community's positive test rate is at 27.24%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.36%. 36.46% of the population has been tested.There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the HutchPost mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Case count at 447, with 425 in community and 114 dead as of Tuesday afternoon

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced Tuesday that county allocation data is now available on Kansas’ COVID-19 <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">vaccine dashboard.</a> A collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the COVID-19 dashboard will be updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday by 12:30 PM.

“I am pleased to announce county-specific allocation data is now available on our <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">vaccine dashboard,</a>” said Governor Laura Kelly. “My administration is prioritizing transparency and communication with public health officials and Kansans to deliver vaccines quickly and efficiently. As we progress through Phase 2 of our vaccination framework, I encourage Kansans to visit KansasVaccine.Gov or contact their local public health departments to learn more about signing up for the vaccine.”

As of January 25, Kansas has reported 132,145, people vaccinated, 157,520 total vaccine doses administered and 255, 550 vaccine doses distributed.

<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here </a>to view the vaccine data

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly announced Tuesday that county allocation data is now available on Kansas’ COVID-19 <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">vaccine dashboard.</a> A collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the COVID-19 dashboard will be updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday by 12:30 PM.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My administration has prioritized transparency and communication with public health officials and Kansans to deliver vaccines quickly and efficiently. To further this effort, you may now view county-specific allocation data on our vaccine dashboard. <a href="https://t.co/HwbkZ5fQj9">https://t.co/HwbkZ5fQj9</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1354124014311116800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“I am pleased to announce county-specific allocation data is now available on our <a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">vaccine dashboard,</a>” said Governor Laura Kelly. “My administration is prioritizing transparency and communication with public health officials and Kansans to deliver vaccines quickly and efficiently. As we progress through Phase 2 of our vaccination framework, I encourage Kansans to visit KansasVaccine.Gov or contact their local public health departments to learn more about signing up for the vaccine.”As of January 25, Kansas has reported 132,145, people vaccinated, 157,520 total vaccine doses administered and 255, 550 vaccine doses distributed.<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here </a>to view the vaccine data

Vaccine data for your county available on Kansas website


HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
PrairieStar received their first 100 doses of the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine for Phase 2 patients late last week.  This is the 65+ age group that is to be vaccinated according to guidelines.  All available doses were given to patients on Monday January 25th at PrairieStar.

It is important that patients work through their Primary Care Provider when possible. The Primary Care Provider has the patient’s medical history and will ensure appropriate documentation and coordination of both doses of the vaccine. Vaccine supplies are extremely limited and PrairieStar is not in control of when and how many vaccines they will receive.

As PrairieStar recieves more doses they will call patients to set up a vaccination appointment. Do not call PrairieStar as their call center does not know when or how much vaccine will be available.

PrairieStar will call patients once they receive more vaccine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1586803833983.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>
HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
PrairieStar received their first 100 doses of the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine for Phase 2 patients late last week. This is the 65+ age group that is to be vaccinated according to guidelines. All available doses were given to patients on Monday January 25th at PrairieStar.It is important that patients work through their Primary Care Provider when possible. The Primary Care Provider has the patient’s medical history and will ensure appropriate documentation and coordination of both doses of the vaccine. Vaccine supplies are extremely limited and PrairieStar is not in control of when and how many vaccines they will receive.As PrairieStar recieves more doses they will call patients to set up a vaccination appointment. Do not call PrairieStar as their call center does not know when or how much vaccine will be available.PrairieStar will call patients once they receive more vaccine.

PrairieStar begins Phase 2 vaccinations; they will call patients to set up appointments


HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — The Reno County Health Department plans on holding a vaccination clinic Friday for seniors who have not been vaccinated.

"We'll have a <a href="https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/01998f35f69046e0afb508d6da1ffad3">link on our website that will open that up to pre-register</a>," said Karen Hammersmith with the Health Department. "Then, we will have staff that goes ahead and stratifies those that are identified as being high risk in those 65 and older so that we get to those being stratified quickly."

Data analyst DJ Gering explains what criteria are being used to decide what order to give the shots in.

"It's based off of the<a href="https://covid19risktools.com:8443/riskcalculator"> Johns Hopkins COVID-19 risk calculator</a>," Gering said. "It's a mortality risk calculation tool that they have posted online. It takes into account a person's age, their underlying medical conditions, what CDC calls a socially vulnerable population."

<a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/at-a-glance_svi.html">CDC Social Vulnerability Index</a> (CDC SVI) uses 15 U.S. census variables to help local officials identify communities that may need support before, during, or after disasters.

"That Social Vulnerability Index looks at poverty, lack of access to transportation, crowded housing and other variables that prevent public health or emergency management from preventing human suffering and financial loss during a disaster, such as a pandemic," Gering said.

The vaccination clinic on Friday will be a day long event.

"That will be at the Sports Arena on Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.," Hammersmith said. "We will go ahead and vaccinate 700 people there. We are working in a collaboration with that."

All entries will be stratified through the risk calculator, rather than using pure demographic data to distribute.

"I think the general consensus with our medical collaborative was, it's better to distribute that vaccine among highest risk individuals, rather than stratifying by age group alone," Gering said. "Some other counties are doing their 80 plus population and the 75 to 79 population and they're stratifying down by age group, but we wanted to calculate it by risk."

If you don't have a computer or don't know how to use one, you can call the Health Department at 844-834-3657 or 620-259-3547 to be put on the list, but with just 700 doses to be distributed, there will be more demand than they have supply for.

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the HutchPost mobile app.

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/12/1608739574842.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>
By
NICK GOSNELL
Hutch
Post
HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — The Reno County Health Department plans on holding a vaccination clinic Friday for seniors who have not been vaccinated."We'll have a <a href="https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/01998f35f69046e0afb508d6da1ffad3">link on our website that will open that up to pre-register</a>," said Karen Hammersmith with the Health Department. "Then, we will have staff that goes ahead and stratifies those that are identified as being high risk in those 65 and older so that we get to those being stratified quickly."Data analyst DJ Gering explains what criteria are being used to decide what order to give the shots in."It's based off of the<a href="https://covid19risktools.com:8443/riskcalculator"> Johns Hopkins COVID-19 risk calculator</a>," Gering said. "It's a mortality risk calculation tool that they have posted online. It takes into account a person's age, their underlying medical conditions, what CDC calls a socially vulnerable population."<a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/svi/at-a-glance_svi.html">CDC Social Vulnerability Index</a> (CDC SVI) uses 15 U.S. census variables to help local officials identify communities that may need support before, during, or after disasters."That Social Vulnerability Index looks at poverty, lack of access to transportation, crowded housing and other variables that prevent public health or emergency management from preventing human suffering and financial loss during a disaster, such as a pandemic," Gering said.The vaccination clinic on Friday will be a day long event."That will be at the Sports Arena on Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.," Hammersmith said. "We will go ahead and vaccinate 700 people there. We are working in a collaboration with that."All entries will be stratified through the risk calculator, rather than using pure demographic data to distribute."I think the general consensus with our medical collaborative was, it's better to distribute that vaccine among highest risk individuals, rather than stratifying by age group alone," Gering said. "Some other counties are doing their 80 plus population and the 75 to 79 population and they're stratifying down by age group, but we wanted to calculate it by risk."If you don't have a computer or don't know how to use one, you can call the Health Department at 844-834-3657 or 620-259-3547 to be put on the list, but with just 700 doses to be distributed, there will be more demand than they have supply for.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the HutchPost mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily HutchPost email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Vaccination clinic for seniors Friday, around 700 shots available

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 444 as of Monday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 111.

The Correctional Facility cluster type has 32 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 72 active cases. Forty-four people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.

Out of 7,390 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 420 cases in the community at large. 6,835 people have recovered thus far.

Ten Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred forty-one total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU and 31 have been intubated. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized.

The community's positive test rate is at 27.24%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.41%. 36.28% of the population has been tested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1595202434504.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Reno County overall case count is at 444 as of Monday afternoon. The death count among Reno County residents is at 111.The Correctional Facility cluster type has 32 active cases measured by the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The Long Term Care Facility cluster type has 72 active cases. Forty-four people within those clusters have died. There are 40 active clusters in the county.Out of 7,390 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic, there are 420 cases in the community at large. 6,835 people have recovered thus far.Ten Reno County residents are in the hospital. According to the dashboard, three hundred forty-one total have been hospitalized. One hundred have been admitted to the ICU and 31 have been intubated. These are Reno County resident numbers regardless of where they are hospitalized.The community's positive test rate is at 27.24%, with the overall positive test rate at 32.41%. 36.28% of the population has been tested.There are still two free public testing sites, one in the Cosmosphere parking lot in Hutchinson and one at Simply Good Overstocks parking lot in South Hutchinson. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Case count at 444, with 420 in community as of Monday afternoon, deaths stay at 111

WASHINGTON (AP) —Public health experts blamed COVID-19 vaccine shortages around the U.S. in part on the Trump administration’s push to get states to vastly expand their vaccination drives to reach the nation’s estimated 54 million people age 65 and over.

The push that began over a week ago has not been accompanied by enough doses to meet demand, according to state and local officials, leading to frustration and confusion and limiting states’ ability to attack the outbreak that has killed over 400,000 Americans.

Over the past few days, authorities in California, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida and Hawaii warned that their supplies were running out. New York City began canceling or postponing shots or stopped making new appointments because of the shortages, which President Joe Biden has vowed to turn around. Florida’s top health official said the state would deal with the scarcity by restricting vaccines to state residents.

The vaccine rollout so far has been “a major disappointment,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute.

Problems started with the Trump administration’s “fatal mistake” of not ordering enough vaccine, which was then snapped up by other countries, Topol said. Then, opening the line to senior citizens set people up for disappointment because there wasn’t enough vaccine, he said. The Trump administration also left crucial planning to the states and didn’t provide the necessary funding.

“It doesn’t happen by fairy dust,” Topol said. “You need to put funds into that.”

Last week, before Biden took over as president, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department suggested that the frustration was the result of unrealistic expectations among the states as to how much vaccine was on the way.

WASHINGTON (AP) —Public health experts blamed COVID-19 vaccine shortages around the U.S. in part on the Trump administration’s push to get states to vastly expand their vaccination drives to reach the nation’s estimated 54 million people age 65 and over.The push that began over a week ago has not been accompanied by enough doses to meet demand, according to state and local officials, leading to frustration and confusion and limiting states’ ability to attack the outbreak that has killed over 400,000 Americans.Over the past few days, authorities in California, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida and Hawaii warned that their supplies were running out. New York City began canceling or postponing shots or stopped making new appointments because of the shortages, which President Joe Biden has vowed to turn around. Florida’s top health official said the state would deal with the scarcity by restricting vaccines to state residents.The vaccine rollout so far has been “a major disappointment,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute.Problems started with the Trump administration’s “fatal mistake” of not ordering enough vaccine, which was then snapped up by other countries, Topol said. Then, opening the line to senior citizens set people up for disappointment because there wasn’t enough vaccine, he said. The Trump administration also left crucial planning to the states and didn’t provide the necessary funding.“It doesn’t happen by fairy dust,” Topol said. “You need to put funds into that.”Last week, before Biden took over as president, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department suggested that the frustration was the result of unrealistic expectations among the states as to how much vaccine was on the way.But some public health experts said that the states have not been getting reliable information on vaccine deliveries and that the amounts they have been sent have been unpredictable. That, in turn, has made it difficult for them to plan how to inoculate people.“It’s a bit of having to build it as we go,” said Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco. “It’s a front-end supply issue, and unless we know how much vaccine is flowing down the pipe, it’s hard to get these things sized right, staffed, get people there, get them vaccinated and get them gone.”State health secretaries have asked the Biden administration for earlier and more reliable predictions on vaccine deliveries, said Washington state Health Secretary Dr. Umair Shah.Dr. Marcus Plescia of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials was also among those who said opening vaccinations to senior citizens was done too soon, before supply could catch up.“We needed steady federal leadership on this early in the launch,” Plescia said. “That did not happen, and now that we are not prioritizing groups, there is going to be some lag for supply to catch up with demand.”Supply will pick up over the next few weeks, he said. Deliveries go out to the states every week, and the government and drugmakers have given assurances large quantities are in the pipeline.The rollout has proceeded at a disappointing pace. The U.S. government has delivered nearly 38 million doses of vaccine to the states, and about 17.5 million of those have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About 2.4 million people have received the necessary two doses, by the CDC’s count — well short of the hundreds of millions who will have to be inoculated to vanquish the outbreak.Biden, in one of his first orders of business, signed 10 executive orders to combat the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, including one broadening the use of the Defense Production Act to expand vaccine production. The 1950 Korean War-era law enables the government to direct the manufacture of critical goods.He also mandated masks for travel, including in airports and on planes, ships, trains, buses and public transportation, and ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up vaccination centers and the CDC to make vaccines available through pharmacies starting next month.Biden has vowed to dispense 100 million shots in his first 100 days.“We’ll move heaven and earth to get more people vaccinated for free,” he said.Florida was one of the first states to open vaccine eligibility to members of the general public over 65. Now uncertainty over the vaccine supply has prompted the state surgeon general, Scott Rivkees, to advise counties to prioritize available doses for state residents, including so-called snowbirds who live there part-time. People seeking vaccination will have to provide a driver’s license or other document, such as rental leases and utility bills.In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have been pleading for more doses. Appointments through Sunday for the first dose of the vaccine at 15 community vaccination hubs set up by the city health department were postponed to next week.Vaccinations in New York haven’t stopped, but demand for the shots now far exceeds the number of doses available, the mayor said.“It’s just tremendously sad that we have so many people who want the vaccine and so much ability to give the vaccine, what’s happening?” de Blasio said. “For lack of supply, we’re actually having to cancel appointments.”Rosa Schneider had jumped at the chance to make a vaccination appointment once she heard that educators like her were eligible in New York. A high school English teacher who lives in New York City but works in New Jersey, she said that a day before she was to be vaccinated on Wednesday at a city-run hospital, she got a call saying the supply had run out and the appointment was canceled.“I was concerned, and I was upset,” said Schneider, 32, but she is trying daily to book another appointment. She is hopeful availability will improve in the coming weeks.

Coronavirus Update