UPDATE as of 11 a.m. 12-23-2020: According to a release from Hutchinson Regional, they received 850 doses of the Moderna vaccine from the Health Department and Prairie Star. This was in addition to the 257 doses given of the Pfizer vaccine last week.
The hospital will be working with all healthcare agencies in the county to determine who is available and in what order to give vaccinations. No further information on when more vaccines may be available was given Wednesday. The original story is below.
By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As more doses of vaccines come in to Reno County, with the Health Department and Prairie Star having received doses this week, at least with regard to Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, front line workers should be able to get their doses.
"We have about 50 employees at the Health Department," Karen Hammersmith said Tuesday. "Prairie Star employs about 140. The clinic usually runs around 400 employees."
Chuck Welch with the hospital said not all of their employees are considered front line.
"We have roughly 1400 employees," Welch said. "Nine hundred at the hospital itself. Of those 900, probably several hundred of those, probably closer to four or five hundred of those are front line workers."
The latest doses are of the Moderna vaccine. It is not as restrictive in terms of cold storage and rapidity with which it must be administered as the Pfizer vaccine, which was available first last week, so it should be easier for all those front line workers that want it to be vaccinated.
Both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines are a two-shot series.