Vaccine clinic hours cut as Sedgwick County has half of the new variant cases in Kansas

The Sedgwick County Health Department is cutting the hours of operation at its vaccine clinic amid a drop in demand for first-doses amid the emergence of coronavirus variants in the Wichita area.

The reduced hours will start Monday at the health department’s mass vaccination clinic at the old downtown library at 233 S. Main. The new hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The clinic will now operate 10 fewer hours each week.

The county offers the Pfizer two-dose vaccine to anyone age 16 years or older. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments can be made online or by calling 316-660-1029.

The county offers the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine to people 18 and older. Appointments are required.

The health department’s announcement on Wednesday followed a Tuesday report about “a precipitous drop” in the number of first doses administered each week. Demand for first doses dropped about 84% from the start of April to the end of the month, according to numbers provided to the Sedgwick County Commission.

The slow-down in vaccinations comes as the more infectious variant strains spread locally.

Also on Wednesday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that half of all new variant cases confirmed in the state over the past two days were in patients from Sedgwick County.

The KDHE reported 44 new variant cases over the last two days, with 22 of those in Sedgwick County. The county had nine new cases of the United Kingdom variant and 13 new cases of the Brazil variant.

Kansas has now had 489 total variant cases, while Sedgwick County has had 217.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that evidence shows the variants are more transmissible, may cause more severe disease and slightly reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

As of Wednesday, there have been 310,115 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the KDHE. Those cases have resulted in 10,312 hospitalizations, 2,850 ICU admissions and 4,999 deaths.

Since Monday, there have been 470 new cases, 33 new hospitalizations, nine new ICU admissions and 14 new deaths in Kansas. The KDHE also reported one new case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children associated with COVID-19.

Sedgwick County, according to the KDHE, has had 56,361 cases, 1,731 hospitalizations, 550 ICU admissions and 747 deaths. The two-day increases were 103 new cases, nine new hospitalizations, two new ICU admissions and two new deaths.

The weekly cluster report showed 60 active clusters statewide, up from 47 a week ago. Only five locations were named in the KDHE’s list of active outbreaks.

In Sedgwick County, the Glen Carr House Memory Care facility in Derby has six cases in the past two weeks.

In Marion County, the outbreak at Hillsboro High School has grown to 18 cases in the past two weeks. Disability Supports group living in McPherson has five cases in the past two weeks, the long-term care home Holiday Resort Health & Rehab of Salina has 18 cases and Genesis Health Club in Manhattan has five cases.

There were 20 new clusters statewide in the past week. The locations were nine businesses, two schools, two nursing homes, two religious gatherings, one sport, one daycare, one government office, one group home and one private event.

The Sedgwick County Health Department in the past two weeks reported three new business clusters, two school-related outbreaks, two long-term care clusters and one outbreak at a religious institution.

COVID-19 vaccinations

On the vaccine front, the KDHE reported 7,259 new first doses and 18,248 more fully vaccinated people between Monday and Wednesday. Nearly 2 million doses have been administered in Kansas since December out of 2.6 million doses distributed to the state.

Kansas now has 38.8% of its population vaccinated with at least one dose and 30.3% of people fully vaccinated, according to the KDHE. Sedgwick County has 35.8% of residents vaccinated with at least one dose and 27.1% of people fully vaccinated.

On Wednesday, CVS Health announced that it is offering walk-in, same-day vaccination appointments at CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide, including 54 locations in Kansas.

As the Sedgwick County Health Department cuts back on hours at its mass clinic, mobile and partner clinics are being expanded. A list of times, dates and locations is below.

Brookside UMC Church, 2760 S. Roosevelt in Wichita, 2-6 p.m. May 5. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Hilltop Urban Church, 910 S. Bluffview in Wichita, 3-7 p.m. May 6. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 311 S. Fifth in Colwich, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 7. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Maize Middle School, 4600 N. Maize in Maize, 3:30-6:30 p.m. May 7. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Lao Buddhist Temple, 2550 S. Greenwich in Wichita, 1-5 p.m. May 8. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Andale High School Gym B, 700 Rush in Andale, 2-6 p.m. May 11. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Pathway Church - Westlink, 2001 N. Maize in Wichita, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 14. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Bethany UMC Church, 1601 S. Main in Wichita, 1-4 p.m. May 15. Partner clinic, schedule an appointment by dialing 316-993-0611.

Cedar Chapel UMC Church, 1140 E. 47th Street South in Wichita, 1-4 p.m. May 16. Partner clinic, schedule an appointment by dialing 316-993-0611.

Riverview Baptist Church, 844 W. 53rd Street North in Wichita, 2-6 p.m. May 18. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Clearwater Senior Center, 921 E. Janet in Clearwater, 2-4 p.m. May 19. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Mulvane High School Gym, 1900 N. Rock in Mulvane, 2-5 p.m. May 21. Walk-in mobile clinic, no appointment.

Chisholm Trail Church of Christ, 5833 E. 37th Street North in Wichita, 1-5 p.m. May 23. Partner clinic, schedule an appointment by dialing 316-214-5490.

St. Mark Cathedral, 1018 N. Dellrose in Wichita, 12:30-4:30 p.m. June 6. Partner clinic, schedule an appointment by dialing 316-393-1574.

VFW Over There Post 112, 1560 S. Topeka in Wichita, 12:30-4:30 p.m. June 19. Partner clinic, schedule an appointment by dialing 316-265-3255.

This story was originally published May 5, 2021 at 4:56 PM.