How do hospitals and the county decide who should be vaccinated?

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Each Friday, the Shawnee Mission Post will post answers to questions we receive from readers about the vaccination process in Johnson County.

This week’s FAQ focuses on questions from readers who want more information about how local and municipal health systems are prioritizing people for vaccination and why vaccine availability remains so limited.

Why is the county vaccinating only people aged 80 and over?

• At Level 1 of Phase 2 of the county distribution plan, people aged 65 and over can be vaccinated.
• But the reason that county-run clinics are focusing on people aged 80 and over is because these clinics are aimed at people at greater risk of serious illness if they contract COVID-19, said epidemiology director Elizabeth Holzschuch.
• The county made an effort last week to try to reach all people aged 80 and over who completed the county’s survey of interest, and health officials say they hope to continue vaccinating people aged 65 to 79 years in the coming weeks.

But hospitals we are vaccinate people aged 65 and over. Why?

• Short answer: because the county sent it.
• Although the county clinic focuses on people aged 80 and over, the county encourages hospitals to start distributing vaccines to their own patients aged 65 and older, as a way to reach more people more quickly.
• Since then, hospitals have focused mainly on vaccinating their own patients aged 65 and over, while the county is focusing on the group over 80.

How are hospitals prioritizing who receives vaccines?

• It probably varies, and we do not hear from all hospital systems what is their internal process for filling vaccination vacancies in their clinics.
• AdventHealth and the University of Kansas Health System say they are inviting eligible people from their patient lists, using random sets of names and not prioritizing certain individuals or groups.
• The criteria for who qualifies as a patient can also vary from hospital to hospital. KU, for example, considers anyone who has received treatment there in the past three years on his patient list.
• If you think you are a patient or have had treatment recently at a hospital, you should check with that provider if you are eligible to receive a vaccine there.

So, if I’m over 65, but I’m not a patient in a big hospital, am I out of luck now?

• Not entirely, but it may be more difficult for you to find a vaccine slot these days.
• Some non-patients were able to make appointments at hospitals by filling out online vaccine interest forms, open to the general public. To learn more about how each major hospital system in Johnson County is registering people’s interest, click here.
• There is also now a very limited number of doses offered to people aged 65 and over at select retail pharmacies in Johnson County. These vacancies are also being filled quickly.
• Also, be sure to complete the county vaccine survey (separate from hospital interest forms). This will put your name on the county records when they finally reach group 65-79.
• In general, health authorities advise residents aged 65 and over to apply to receive the vaccine by all possible means. This will increase your chance of receiving a vaccination proposal somewhere.

What if I am under 65 but have a serious underlying health problem. Do I still have to wait?

• At the moment, the answer unfortunately is: yes.
• Age, according to the Kansas phased vaccine distribution plan, is the main factor being considered for those who are now vaccinated. This is beyond the control of the county.
• Kansas county health departments may divide state phases into priority groups – as they did at Level 1 in Phase 2, choosing to vaccinate educators and first responders, in addition to those 65 and older – but the county cannot move forward. future phases that include the youngest, until the state does.
• People under the age of 65 with serious underlying health problems, including cancer, chronic kidney disease, sickle cell and heart problems, are part of Phase 3 of the state’s implantation, as are pregnant women. A complete analysis of the phased vaccine distribution in the state is available here.

Are hospitals getting their own vaccines separate from the county quota?

• No, there are no separate dose flows going to Johnson County hospitals. All doses go through the county health department today.
• Johnson County has received between 5,800 and 7,000 first doses per week across the state. And those doses are split between the county clinic and local health systems.
• How many doses each health system receives changes each week depending on a number of factors. For example, last week, about 1,900 doses were distributed to residents and employees in unlicensed elderly communities. There were 1,900 doses, then, that did not end up going to hospitals.

Do we know how many doses have been administered in Johnson County so far?

• The county says that by the end of Friday, more than 50,000 residents of Johnson County will have received at least the first dose, including about 40% of educators and school staff.
• Doses administered by local health systems are included in the county total.
• AdventHealth has received up to 2,000 doses per week, according to a spokesperson, and has already vaccinated around 10,000 people, including employees.
• Olathe Medical Center said on Thursday that it vaccinated about 4,000 patients aged 65 and over and expects to vaccinate another 2,000 by the end of next week.

When will more doses arrive?

• I hope that soon. There have been some promising developments, suggesting that the supply of vaccines may increase in the coming weeks.
• The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said this week that the federal government plans to double the number of doses Kansas is receiving each week.
• Governor Laura Kelly said she wants to use some of these extra doses to coordinate vaccinations for more K-12 educators across the state, so schools can reopen earlier.
• In addition, the number of doses administered at local retail pharmacies is also expected to grow in the coming weeks.

Will the recent winter climate affect the distribution of the vaccine?

• It’s possible.
• The problem will not be next week’s forecast – it is expected to be much hotter – but shipping delays this week have left many Kansas communities without the necessary doses for clinics next week, said KDHE’s director of communications, Kristi Zears.
• On Thursday, Johnson County said it had not received its doses for next week’s clinics. This made planning difficult, as the county hesitates to open consultations for vaccines it does not yet have.