KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As of Tuesday evening, the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Kansas has received 131,750 doses of the vaccine, but has only administered 20,110 doses. That comes out to .69% of the population, or 690 people per 100,000 living in the state.
Although Missouri isn't significantly better, with 91,817 doses administered (accounting for 1.61% of that state's population,) Kansas still has the lowest rate in the nation, according to the CDC's data.
A spokesperson for Kansas said the low vaccination rate should be attributed to slow reporting.
The spokesperson said vaccine providers are supposed to report vaccine administration into a federal computer system, but not all providers are trained on that system.
This learning curve has caused delays in reporting the number of vaccines distributed, the spokesperson said, and the state is working to bring providers up to speed.
The spokesperson noted that doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to all 105 Kansas counties.
All of this was confirmed by Cindy Samuelson, the Senior Vice President of the Kansas Hospital Association.
"We have heard from hospitals across Kansas that there were some challenges in getting set up in the process of recording," Samuelson said.
According to Samuelson, there are two ways to record that data. One is through a state website, the other is through the newer, CDC website.
Still, she maintains Kansas is being proactive in vaccinating healthcare workers and focusing on that first, and recording the data second.
"I am pleased and our hospital association is pleased that we were able to do the distribution of the vaccine and get it to healthcare workers in a very quick manner. Unfortunately, the data is not reflecting what we’re seeing on the ground," Samuelson said.
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