The Geary County Health Department continues to receive limited amounts of COVID-19 vaccine. Emergency Management Director Garry Berges said that they are currently receiving 300 doses a week and do not anticipate an increase in that number until the state begins to receive larger amounts from the federal government. As they continue with the vaccination efforts for Phase 2, they have shared this across multiple groups identified in the state plan. This includes firefighters, law enforcement, Community Corrections, USD 475 employees, as well as reaching out to people over 65 who have called to be put on the list or have signed up on their website to receive the vaccine.
As people call in or sign up on our website, the Health Department is prioritizing them according to age, medical risks or occupation. They want to be sure that we give everyone a chance to receive the vaccine. This Saturday, they are holding a vaccination clinic at the CL Hoover Opera House for people 65 and over with medical risks. They have reached out to people on their list and scheduled them for a time to come so that no one is waiting in the cold or makes it to the door only to find that the supply of vaccine has run out. As vaccine continues to be received they will schedule more clinics to reach as many people as possible. The schedule for Saturday is full, but officials are planning more clinics as vaccine is received from the state. Please do not come to the Opera House on Saturday seeking the vaccine if you have not been contacted.
As of Friday, the Health Department along with Geary Community Hospital and Konza Community Health have vaccinated 710 people with an additional 250 scheduled for Saturday. The remaining doses were provided as second immunizations as part of Phase 1 as we did not receive all of the allocated second doses from the State. The state has assured us that when the second doses for people are due, the Health Department will receive that additional vaccine along with the 300 doses received each week. If you would like to sign up to receive vaccine, please go to the Geary County Website https://www.gearycounty.org/1418/Novel-Coronavirus-COVID-19 and sign up on the Vaccination Roster Request.