OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Bob Bennett is the COVID-19 vaccine operations director for the Unified Government Public Health Department, which covers Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
He gets excited when he has the chance to talk about COVID-19.
“Our goal is to end the pandemic, not just to give out shots,” he said.
And about four months into vaccine distribution, Bennett said the health department is “the most efficient operation in pretty much the entire United States.”
Efficient and equitable. Bennett, who has a background in data and smart city technology, said the county used an algorithm to identify the three zip codes which COVID-19 hit the hardest. The county began its vaccine outreach in those neighborhoods.
Bennett points out one of the first keys to a successful vaccine rollout was to eliminate requiring an appointment. Some people find the appointment to be a barrier and Bennett said there should be as few barriers as possible between a person and the vaccine.
“We based our judgment for opening to walk-ins on how much vaccine we had on hand and how many people were taking advantage of the appointments that we had made available,” he pointed out.
Since March, when the health department dropped the appointment requirement, Bennett said none of the department’s three vaccination sites have ran out of vaccinations. More than 20 percent of the county’s residents have received at least one dose. That’s below the state of Kansas as a whole. Wyandotte County also lags behind the state in percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated. Douglas Countyboasts the highest rate of vaccination per 1,000 residents. Bennett stands by his equitable approach.
“Since day one, we have focused on getting our vaccine to those places where the impact of the disease has been most significantly felt,” he explained.
Walk-in vaccinations are available for any Wyandotte County resident over the age of 16 (people who are 16 and 17 need a parent or guardian to accompany them). The vaccinations take place at three locations (The Armory at 100 South 20th Street, the old Kmart at 7836 State Avenue and a former Best Buy at 10500 Parallel Parkway) most weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. During the month of April, the county is making vaccines available on Saturdays at The Armory location. Visit the health department’s website for more information.
Editor's note: The percentage of Wyandotte County residents who have received at least one dose of the vaccine has been updated to reflect the health department’s data. A previous version of this story miscalculated the percentage.
