KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Johnson County plans to receive nearly 6,000 additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines this week as it continues efforts to vaccinate more than 25,000 health care providers.
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment said in a news release that it received two shipments of 1,000 doses each on Monday and Tuesday. It also plans to receive an additional 3,900 doses from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment later this week.
The additional doses come after the county used the last of its supply on Monday. Still, officials are urging people to be patient.
“I expect this week to be better than last week, and next week to be better than this week, and so don’t get discouraged,” Dr. Sanmi Areola, JCDHE director, told 41 Action News on Monday. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
The county says it will hold vaccination clinics this week, with the goal of vaccinating 1,000 health care workers per day.
The county health department also will partner with the University of Kansas Medical Center to open a clinic to vaccinate 17,000 health care workers.
Before Tuesday, the health department had received 4,000 total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. In this first phase of distribution, the county is only providing the vaccine for health care workers, EMS and public health staff.
Johnson County health care providers who want their staff to be vaccinated should complete an online form. Those organizations will be placed on a list and notified when the vaccine becomes available to them.
