KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After steadily rising from the first vaccine availability in mid-December through early April, the number of people initiating and completing COVID-19 vaccinations in Kansas and Missouri fell for the second consecutive week.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported administering nearly 200,000 inoculations for the week of April 5-11, but the number of COVID-19 vaccinations has declined each of the last two weeks.
The state health department reported only 111,454 vaccinations for the week of April 19-25, according to data from its Kansas COVID-19 Vaccination Overview, a drop of more 44% during the two-week span.
The decline was most pronounced in the number of first vaccine doses administered, which declined precipitously in the last two weeks.
Kansas reported at least 100,000 first doses administered for five weeks straight from March 8 through April 11, but that number declined to 65,677 for April 12-18 and fell further to 40,238 for April 19-25 — the lowest total since January.
Data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services shows declines in the vaccination rate, though not as stark as those in Kansas.
The state health department reported nearly 329,000 total vaccinations were administered in Missouri from April 19-25, down from a record nearly 415,000 vaccinations two weeks ago.
While the number of first doses administered in Missouri has dropped 28% from 211,444 for the week of April 5-11 to 151,324 last week, the number of completed vaccinations hasn’t declined as dramatically.
In fact, the number of completed vaccinations in Missouri from April 19-25 actually went up compared to the previous week and has only declined 12.8% since a record 203,524 completed vaccinations were reported April 5-11.
The state health department reported 164,547 completed vaccinations April 12-18 and 177,447 last week, a 7.8% increase, according to data from Missouri's COVID-19 Dashboard.
A Missouri Hospital Association study shows that vaccine hesitancy remains relatively high in the state, especially among evangelicals and Republicans.
The pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccinations, which Missouri ended Friday and Kansas ended Monday following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decision late last week, did not significantly impact vaccine availability in either state, health officials said.
