COVID-19 vaccinations for K-12 teachers to start next week in Johnson County, Kansas
Health officials say school districts will identify staff members to be immunized
THAT’S RIGHT HERE ON KMBC 9 NEWS AT NINE. TONIGHT 168 NEW CASES COVID-19 AND 7 DEATHS REPORTED IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. THAT IS OUT OF MORE THAN 400 CASES ACROSS OUR NINE COUNTY AREA. THE AVERAGE OF NEW HOSPITALIZATIONS CONTINUES TO DECLINE, FEWER CASES, DEATHS, AND HOSPITALIZATIONS AS RYAN JOHNSON LOOKS AT WHAT LABS ON THE FRONT LINES ARE NOW SEEING AND WHAT IS DIVING THE TREND. — >> VERY FEW PEOPLE IN OUR METRO HAVE RECEIVED THE SECOND COVID-19 VACCINE STILL, DAILY NEW COVID-19 CASES ARE DOWN 27% FROM ONE WEEK AGO, ACCORDING TO THE MID-AMERICA REGIONAL COUNCIL. >> MORE PEOPLE ARE GETTING TESTED, MORE PEOPLE KNOW THEIR STATUS, AND THEY’RE DOING THE RIGHT THING ONCE THEY FIGURE OUT WHAT THEIR STATUS IS. >> ROBERT THOMPSON IS THE CEO OF CLINICAL REFERENCE LABORATORY IN LENEXA. HE SAYS WITH VACCINES COMING, MORE PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO FOLLOW SAFETY RULES. >> PEOPLE ARE BEING, LIKE, ‘ ’WELL, ALL I GOTTA DO IS BE WELL BEHAVED FOR A COUPLE MORE MONTHS’. >> IT’S POSSIBLE LOCAL SUPER BOWL PARTIES COULD SLOW OR REVERSE THAT TREND. >> ANYTHING THAT ENCOURAGES LARGE GROUP GATHERINGS, WE USUALLY SEE A LITTLE BUMP UP. HIS LAB DOESN’T SEQUENCE FOR VARIANTS OF COVID-19. THE CDC DOES, BUT HE SAYS THEY DON’T SHARE THAT DATA. >> WHERE WE’RE HEADED IS THEY’LL PROBABLY, LIKE THE FLU SHOT, WE’LL GET A BOOSTER EVERY YEAR THAT COVERS THE THE VARIANTS THAT WE SEE. >> FOR NOW, HE’S HOPEFUL EVERYONE WHO WANTS THE VACCINE CAN GET IT BY MAY. >> IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, WE’VE DEFINITELY SEEN AN ACCELERATION. >> IN THE MEANTIME, HE ENCOURAGES SOCIAL DISTANCE, MASKS AND TESTING. >> SO IF THERE’S ANY QUESTION THAT YOU THINK MAYBE YOU WERE EXPOSED, GO GET A TEST. HALEY: THOMPSON SAYS MASK MANDATES WILL EVENTUALLY END, BUT IT’S POSSIBLE SOME PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE WEARING THEM TO PREVENT ILLNESS. SOMETHING THAT’S A COMMON PRACTICE IN ASIA. JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS WILL KEEP RESTRICTIONS ON BARS AND RESTAURANTS THROUGH THE END OF MARCH. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS VOTED 5 TO 2 TODAY TO EXTEND ITS ORDER ON COVID RESTRICTIONS. IT WAS SET TO EXPIRE SUNDAY. IT LIMITS GATHERINGS TO 50 PEOPLE OR HALF A VENUE’S CAPACITY, AND REQUIRES BARS AND RESTAURANTS TO CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT. MASKS ARE STILL REQUIRED UNDER A SEPARATE ORDER. HEALTH LEADERS SAY THE RESTRICTIONS COULD BE STRONGER BUT THESE ORDERS WILL HELP CURB THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS ESPECIALLY AS FEARS GROW OVER NEW VARIANTS. SOME JOHNSON COUNTY TEACHERS WILL START GETTING VACCINATED NEXT WEEK. THE CLINICS WILL BE RUN BY CHILDREN’S MERCY HOSPITAL. THE FIRST VACCINATION CLINIC WILL BE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS. THE NEXT CLINIC WILL BE FOR SCHOOL EMPLOYEES WHO ARE 65 AND OLDER AND THOSE WHO HAVE AN ADA ACCOMMODATION. THE PLAN IS TO HOLD THESE CLINICS UNTIL EVERY SCHOOL EMPLOYEE WHO WANTS A VACCINE CAN GET ONE. DISTRICTS WILL REACH OUT TO EMPLOYEES DIRECTLY TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT. MISSOURI HAS ONE OF THE LOWEST COVID VACCINATION RATES IN THE COUNTRY BUT GOVERNOR PARSON SAYS THERE’S MORE TO THE STORY. THERE HAVE BEEN 26 MILLION VACCINES ADMINISTERED NATIONWIDE. THAT’S NEARLY EIGHT PEOPLE VACCINATED OUT OF EVERY 100. BUT IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI IT’S ONLY SIX OUT OF EVERY 100 PEOPLE. MISSOURI RANKS 52ND AMONG ALL STATES AND TERRITORIES. GOVERNOR PARSON SAYS THIS IS A REPORTING ERROR. >> THEY ARE REPORTING THREE DAYS BEHIND ACTUAL TIME. WE WERE ACTUALLY COMPETING WITH STATES THAT WERE UP-TO-DATE BUT OURS WAS THREE-DAY BEHIND — DAYS BEHIND, AGAIN I QUESTION EVERYBODY WHEN THEY LOOK AT THAT — IF YOU USE ONE METRIC, YOU CAN USE ONE STORY YOU WANT. IT IS IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT ALL THE DATA TO DO THAT. HALEY: THE GOVERNOR SAYS THE STATE HAS TALKED WITH THE WHITE HOUSE ABOUT THAT DISCREPANCY. CVS IS RESPONDING TONIGHT AFTER GOVERNOR PARSON ANNOUNCED THE STATE WILL TAKE UNUSED VACCINES FROM PHARMACIES AND DISTRIBUTE THEM TO OTHER SITES. CVS SAYS THE GOVERNOR’S DECISION HELP ENSURE DOSES ARE PUT TO THE BEST USE AND THE COMPANY LOOKS FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO PARTNER WITH THE STATE TO VACCINATE MORE THAN 600 — 600 LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES. NEW DETAILS TONIGHT ON HOW KANSAS WILL SPEND ITS FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF MONEY. THE SUNFLOWER STATE EXPECTS TO GET $1.1 BILLION FROM THE LATEST RELIEF PACKAGE ABOUT HALF-FULL GO TO K-12 SCHOOLS, HIGHER EDUCATION, AND CHILD CARE GRANTS. AROUND 168 MILLION WILL GO TOWARD COVID TESTING, TRACING AND MITIGATION. ANOTHER 26 MILLION FOR VACCINE DISTRIBUTION.PTHIS IS ALL ACCOR
COVID-19 vaccinations for K-12 teachers to start next week in Johnson County, Kansas
Health officials say school districts will identify staff members to be immunized
Updated: 9:26 PM CST Jan 28, 2021
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment said Thursday it will begin the process of vaccinating K-12 teachers starting next week.The health department is working with Children’s Mercy to start vaccinating school employees. The school districts are in charge of identifying staff members to be immunized in waves.JCDHE said it has about 1,900 doses to vaccinate K-12 staff. Among the first to get the vaccine will be special education teachers and the staff at the School of the Deaf, health officials said.Educators are encouraged to reach out to their school’s administration for more information.Teachers are in the same Phase 2, Tier 1 with people over age 65, child care workers and first responders.
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment said Thursday it will begin the process of vaccinating K-12 teachers starting next week.
The health department is working with Children’s Mercy to start vaccinating school employees. The school districts are in charge of identifying staff members to be immunized in waves.
JCDHE said it has about 1,900 doses to vaccinate K-12 staff. Among the first to get the vaccine will be special education teachers and the staff at the School of the Deaf, health officials said.
Educators are encouraged to reach out to their school’s administration for more information.
Teachers are in the same Phase 2, Tier 1 with people over age 65, child care workers and first responders.