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.
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