Ellis County Health Department
Ellis County will begin vaccinating individuals in Phase 2 of the state of Kansas plan Tuesday. Given the extremely limited supply of vaccine and the large number of residents who fall into this category, the Ellis County Health Department is forced to create sub-prioritization groups as it works through this category.
Current State of Kansas Phase 2 Guidelines:
- Persons aged 65 and older
- High-contact critical workers necessary to maintain systems, assets, and activities that are vital to the state security, the economy or public health, or who interact with large numbers of contacts and job-related COVID-19 exposure. COVID-19 risk is associated with the likelihood of infecting oneself or spreading the virus. Factors that increase risk include proximity, type of contact, duration of contacts and challenges to implement protective measures. This includes:
• Firefighters, police officers, first responders, and correction officers
• Grocery store workers and food services
• K-12 and childcare workers, including teachers, custodians, drivers, & other staff
o Food processing, including meat processing plants
• Large-scale aviation manufacturing plants
• Transportation workers
• Workers in retail, agriculture, supply of critical services or materials for COVID-19
response, the U.S. Postal Service, and Department of motor vehicles
- • Those living or working in licensed congregate settings and other special care or congregate environments where social distancing is not possible, including:
• Homeless shelters
• Congregate childcare institutions
• Emergency shelters or safe houses
• Corrections facilities
• Behavioral health institutions
Ellis County Phase 2 Guidelines for initial distribution:
• Persons aged 65 and older that meet the State of Kansas definition of high-contact critical worker or living in congregate environments per the state’s
definition.
• Ellis County residents that want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine must complete the online request form located at www.ellisco.net. Click on the Vaccine Registration Form on the main page. https://form.jotform.com/210066258239051
Process to receive vaccine
If you do not have access to internet, please call 785-621-1812 to have the form filled out for you.
- Ellis County Health Department (ECHD) is notified on Wednesdays of how many doses we are to receive the following week.
- ECHD will utilize the vaccine registration form to determine which individuals meet the current criteria for vaccination and provide this information to First Care Clinic to schedule appointments for vaccination.
- Individuals will receive a text message or an email with a time and date of vaccination. This email or text will come from [email protected].
- At this time for the purpose of timely administration all vaccines will be administered at our Mass Vaccination Site. We have partnered with First Care Clinic, HaysMed, part of the University of Kansas Health Systems and Big Creek Crossing to open a large-scale vaccination clinic located in the old Gordmans Building on the north end of Big Creek Crossing Mall at 2918 Vine St. Hays, KS 67601. We truly understand and empathize with everyone who is waiting patiently to receive the vaccine. We are making every effort to provide as many vaccinations as quickly as possible. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.
Vaccine updates
Ellis County COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have continued a downward trend since November 23. We now have two 95% effective vaccines via Pfizer and Moderna. As of January 18, 2021, over 12 million vaccine doses have been administered nationally, with over 117,000 administered in Kansas and 1,500 in Ellis County.
The path ahead remains quite complex, including the need for prioritization of early supply, ultra-cold storage, and managing second-dose administration.
Each week, the federal government awards Kansas a portion of the nationally available vaccine based on Kansas's share of the US population and state-wide administration rates. That amount is then allocated to distribution points across the state.
Ellis County Health Department, in coordination with our medical community, is prepared for this distribution process. Our medical coalition is working together to rigorously ensure a fair and effective rollout. Ellis County Health Department is required to follow state guidelines on defining patient population prioritization phases. It is necessary given the extremely limited supply that we define sub- priorities within each phase. The coalition will help guide our county through each phase based on vaccine administration, expected patient demand, and available supply.
The Kansas government has set forth the following guidelines to define population priorities and sequencing:
- The phases are guidelines for population prioritization to ensure that the most at-risk populations receive the vaccine first and that the vaccine is equitably administered, especially with limited vaccine supply.
- Gov. L Kelly and Dr. L Norman provide guidance on which phase the state is currently in, but local health departments have flexibility to prioritize within the sub-populations of a phase.
- If a county has finished vaccinating a given phase, local health departments can decide to move to the next phase, if available supply permits.
- The phases should not be rigid roadblocks to administering the vaccine and should not tie providers hands.