Coronavirus update: Here’s how much demand is slowing for COVID-19 vaccine in Kansas
The number of Kansans wanting a COVID-19 vaccine has fallen drastically.
Figures released Friday from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment show 8,886 more Kansans took their first vaccine since Wednesday. In comparison, Kansas saw 66,000-plus people receive their first dose over a two-day period for the April 2 report, according to KDHE data compiled by The Eagle.
The latest week of reports — which are released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — showed 26,060 Kansans received their first shots.
During the first two weeks of April, each of the thrice-weekly reports ranged between 24,034 and more than 66,000 people taking their first vaccine.
The numbers show what health officials have been saying, that supply outstrips demand. The opposite was true when the KDHE started to release vaccine data in January.
As of Friday, more than 1.11 million Kansans, or 38.4%, have received one dose and 29.1% have completed the vaccine process. The exact percentage needed for herd immunity is unknown, but most experts say somewhere between 70% and 85% of the population would need to be vaccinated.
Kansas isn’t the only place seeing the demand slow.
The number of daily doses administered in the U.S. peaked at about 3.24 million on April 11 and has been dropping since, according to a seven-day moving average tracked by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC data shows 43.6% of the U.S. population has one dose of the vaccine and 30.5% has been fully vaccinated.
Only people 16 and older are currently eligible for a vaccine, but that could soon change. Health officials are awaiting a U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision that would expand who is eligible. The pending FDA emergency use authorization would allow a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for people ages 12 to 15.
New numbers
The KDHE reported 620 new COVID-19 cases, 97 hospitalizations and four deaths Friday. Cases during the last week were higher than they have been since the week beginning March 21.
The 14 deaths reported in the last week were one higher than the previous week.
Kansas has had a total of 309,130 cases, 10,248 hospitalizations and 4,982 deaths.
Sedgwick County’s cases increased by 133 since Wednesday, bringing the total to 56,132, according to the KDHE. Deaths remained at 743.
Variant cases
Variant cases increased by 66, or roughly 20%, to 391 since Wednesday, KDHE data shows.
Variant cases have been found in five more counties — Dickinson, Saline, Marion, Wabaunsee and Cloud — bringing to total to 37 counties with variant cases.
Sedgwick County has the most variant cases, with 156, and the most strains, with seven. One of those strains is new since Wednesday.
In Kansas, 384 of the variant cases are “variants of concern” and the rest are “variants of interest.” The KDHE said variants of concern have “evidence of an increase in transmissibility” and “more severe disease.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 1:56 PM.