Phase II of COVID-19 vaccinations start in Kansas. Are you in it?
As Kansas moves into a new phase of its coronavirus vaccination effort, Gov. Laura Kelly issued a greatly expanded list of who can get the vaccine and said a hallelujah for Joe Biden for his anti-COVID efforts on his second day as president.
The state is moving into Phase II of vaccine distribution, expanding eligibility for vaccination beyond nursing home residents and health care workers.
The new rules will include vaccination eligibility for all residents 65 and older.
Kelly also announced that workers in these industries can now receive the vaccine, as it becomes available:
▪ Workers in large-scale aviation manufacturing plants.
▪ K-12 education and childcare workers, including teachers, custodians and bus drivers.
▪ Firefighters, police officers and correction officers.
▪ Grocery store and food services workers.
▪ Food processing plant workers.
▪ Transportation workers.
▪ Workers in retail, agriculture, supply of critical services or materials for COVID-19 response.
▪ Workers in the U.S. Postal Service, and Department of Motor Vehicles.
The expanded list also includes people in congregate living situations, including:
▪ Homeless shelters.
▪ Childcare institutions
▪ Emergency shelters or safe houses.
▪ Prison, jail and other correctional facilities
▪ Mental health institutions.
That doesn’t mean all those people will be able to get vaccinated in the immediate future because the primary limitation has been supplies.
Along those lines, Kelly praised Biden for invoking a national defense law Thursday, his first full day in office, to help get more COVID-19 vaccinations into people’s arms.
“They (the Biden Administration) just invoked the Defense Production Act this morning,” Kelly said. “Hallelujah! We’ve needed this for a long time.
“The response to this kind of emergency really does need to be driven from the federal government, down to the state governments (that) are working with the local governments.”
The act allows the government to order industries to increase production of needed supplies in times of national emergency. In this case, those orders will be to ramp up production of the raw materials used for vaccine production and the equipment needed to deliver vaccinations, including hypodermic syringes, medicine vials and stoppers, gloves, gowns and masks.
Earlier in the coronavirus-caused pandemic, the administration of former President Donald Trump invoked the act for COVID testing supplies and life-supporting ventilators, along with some personal protective equipment for health workers.
Kelly also announced that Marci Nielsen, a former vice president of GEHA Health, will become her office’s chief advisor for COVID-19 coordination to assist the state in streamlining distribution of vaccines.
GEHA is a national not-for-profit organization that provides medical and dental plans to federal employees and retirees. Nielsen, who holds a doctorate in philosophy/health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University, has previously served Kansas as vice chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical School and executive director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority.
Kelly tapped Nielsen in September to lead the state’s effort to increase COVID testing.
“Her efforts, along with our team at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, helped our state nearly double the number of tests we performed,” Kelly said.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 6:58 PM.
