Police are searching for a man who they said stole a car containing vials of COVID-19 vaccine just before they were to be distributed. The 2018 gray Hyundai Accent with Florida tag NPJJ58 was stolen from the inoculation site at the Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds in Plant City, authorities said.Police released video of the suspect, who they described as a light-skinned male in his 20s. He has long hair and was wearing a light-colored hoodie when the theft occurred.The police incident report says the car had been left with the engine running and unlocked by a driver who worked for CDR Maguire, a contractor that had been providing vaccination scheduling and COVID testing. Police said the driver had left the keys in ignition and gotten out to ask for instructions on where to go.The car was carrying 30 vials of vaccine worth about $10,000. Anyone with information about the man is asked to call Plant City police.
PLANT CITY, Fla. —
Police are searching for a man who they said stole a car containing vials of COVID-19 vaccine just before they were to be distributed.
The 2018 gray Hyundai Accent with Florida tag NPJJ58 was stolen from the inoculation site at the Strawberry Festival Fairgrounds in Plant City, authorities said.
Police released video of the suspect, who they described as a light-skinned male in his 20s. He has long hair and was wearing a light-colored hoodie when the theft occurred.
The police incident report says the car had been left with the engine running and unlocked by a driver who worked for CDR Maguire, a contractor that had been providing vaccination scheduling and COVID testing.
Police said the driver had left the keys in ignition and gotten out to ask for instructions on where to go.
The car was carrying 30 vials of vaccine worth about $10,000.
Anyone with information about the man is asked to call Plant City police.
Iowa has surpassed a grim milestone as the state reports more than 5,000 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.The Iowa Department of Public Health on Thursday reported 977 new positive COVID-19 cases and 58 additional deaths. At 10 a.m., the health department reported 322,513 total positive cases, 290,011 total recoveries and 5,033 total deaths since the pandemic began. Twenty-four hours earlier, the health department reported 321,536 total cases and 4,975 total deaths.The state reports 275,706 total COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, with 262,719 of those doses administered to Iowa residents. The state reports 69,232 people have completed both vaccine doses.The state’s 14-day positivity rate continue to drop. The statewide rate is now 9.3%, down from 9/5% a day earlier. The 7-day average decreased from 7.6% to 7.4%. The health department reports 1,485,684 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19, while 3,689,952 tests have been administered.The number of Iowa counties reporting a 14-day positivity rate higher than 15% stands at five. Sixty-five counties report a rate lower than 10%.There are 360 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 382 the previous day. The number of patients admitted in the last 24 hours declined from 58 to 54. There are 77 patients in ICU and 31 patients on ventilators.The number of long-term care facilities reporting outbreaks declined from 48 to 47. The state reports 1,356 positive cases and 841 recoveries among residents and staff within those facilities. Iowa reports 2,048 total care facility deaths.The Iowa Department of Public Health provides COVID-19 data in real time on this website. KCCI publishes a daily summary at 10 a.m.Gov. Kim Reynolds will hold a news conference on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday at 11 a.m.You can watch the news conference on KCCI-TV, the KCCI Breaking News and Weather App, KCCI.com or the KCCI Facebook page.
DES MOINES, Iowa —
Iowa has surpassed a grim milestone as the state reports more than 5,000 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The Iowa Department of Public Health on Thursday reported 977 new positive COVID-19 cases and 58 additional deaths.
At 10 a.m., the health department reported 322,513 total positive cases, 290,011 total recoveries and 5,033 total deaths since the pandemic began. Twenty-four hours earlier, the health department reported 321,536 total cases and 4,975 total deaths.
The state reports 275,706 total COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, with 262,719 of those doses administered to Iowa residents. The state reports 69,232 people have completed both vaccine doses.
The state’s 14-day positivity rate continue to drop. The statewide rate is now 9.3%, down from 9/5% a day earlier. The 7-day average decreased from 7.6% to 7.4%. The health department reports 1,485,684 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19, while 3,689,952 tests have been administered.
The number of Iowa counties reporting a 14-day positivity rate higher than 15% stands at five. Sixty-five counties report a rate lower than 10%.
There are 360 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 382 the previous day. The number of patients admitted in the last 24 hours declined from 58 to 54. There are 77 patients in ICU and 31 patients on ventilators.
The number of long-term care facilities reporting outbreaks declined from 48 to 47. The state reports 1,356 positive cases and 841 recoveries among residents and staff within those facilities. Iowa reports 2,048 total care facility deaths.
The Iowa Department of Public Health provides COVID-19 data in real time on this website. KCCI publishes a daily summary at 10 a.m.
Gov. Kim Reynolds will hold a news conference on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday at 11 a.m.
You can watch the news conference on KCCI-TV, the KCCI Breaking News and Weather App, KCCI.com or the KCCI Facebook page.
ASSAULT AND OTHER OFFENSES. NO WORD ON IF THE CHARGES WILL BE UPGRADED. KELLY: WE HAVE OTHER BREAKING. VACCINE APPOINTMENTS HAVE OPENED AT SAM’S CLUB. THE STORE IS APPARENTLY TEAMING UP WITH THE STATE TO OFFER VACCINES, COVID-19 VACCINES, TO THOSE IN PRIORITY GROUP 1-A. THE SAM’S CLUBS IN OUR REGION OFFERING VACCINES INCLUDE WAYNESBURG, MONROEVILLE, TARANTO, WASHINGTON, WEST MIFFLIN. HEAD TO THE SAM’S CLUB WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MAKING AN APPOINTMENT. ALTHOUGH SOME PEOPLE HAVE STARTED POSTING ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE THA
Some local Sam’s Club stores begin taking appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations
Sam’s Club made announcement about vaccinations on Wednesday
Updated: 8:42 AM EST Feb 4, 2021
Some Pittsburgh-area Sam’s Club stores have begun taking appointments for COVID-19 vaccines.Those appointments can be made on Sam’s Club’s website after members log in.Sam’s Club announced Wednesday that some local stores would be able to give the vaccine.Those stores are located in Greensburg, Monroeville, Tarentum, Washington and West Mifflin. Within an hour of the appointments being made available, viewers began reaching out to the WTAE Facebook page, saying they were having difficulty finding available appointment as they were apparently filling up quickly.
MONROEVILLE, Pa. —
Some Pittsburgh-area Sam’s Club stores have begun taking appointments for COVID-19 vaccines.
Those appointments can be made on Sam’s Club’s website after members log in.
Sam’s Club announced Wednesday that some local stores would be able to give the vaccine. Those stores are located in Greensburg, Monroeville, Tarentum, Washington and West Mifflin.
Within an hour of the appointments being made available, viewers began reaching out to the WTAE Facebook page, saying they were having difficulty finding available appointment as they were apparently filling up quickly.
LONDON — As the world races to vaccinate and fight new variants of Covid-19, a new trial is trying something that could speed up the process: mixing shots.
Patients taking part in a clinical trial launched Thursday in the United Kingdom will receive different vaccines for their first and second doses: the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, followed by the one from Pfizer and BioNTech, or vice versa.
The U.K.’s Department of Health said it was the first study of its kind — normally patients receive two doses of the same vaccine — and will help determine the safety of mixing doses across different groups and with a variety of different time intervals.
People wait to receive a Covid-19 vaccine in the Winding Wheel Theatre, Chesterfield, U.K., on Wednesday.Carl Recine / Reuters
The researchers said they wanted participants who were over 50 and had not yet been vaccinated to take part in the trial.
The 13-month study, known as “Com-Cov,” is expected to first report initial findings in the summer. Its data could lead to a change in the U.K.’s vaccine policy.
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently changed guidance for Covid-19 vaccines, saying that patients could mix the Moderna and Pfizer doses in “exceptional situations.”
But the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are both based on the same messenger RNA, or mRNA, platform. The U.K. trial, however, involves mixing vaccines based on different techniques. The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine uses an inactivated adenovirus, a type of virus that causes the common cold.
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Trial participants will be tested to monitor their levels of antibodies and T cells, which search for and attack infected cells.
“This is a hugely important clinical trial that will provide us with more vital evidence on the safety of these vaccines when used in different ways,” said Nadhim Zahawi, the minister for Covid-19 vaccine deployment, in a statement.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the U.K.’s deputy chief medical officer, who is ultimately responsible for the study, said there are “definite advantages to having data that could support a more flexible immunization program.”
“It is also even possible that by combining vaccines, the immune response could be enhanced giving even higher antibody levels that last longer; unless this is evaluated in a clinical trial we just won’t know,” he added.
Related
The U.K. faced criticism for delaying the second vaccine dose for some patients by up to 12 weeks rather than the recommended 21 days, in order to prioritize administering as many first doses as possible.
But Health Secretary Matt Hancock this week pointed to new research, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, that suggests patients show high immune resistance to Covid and reduced transmission after just one dose.
Vaccine shortages and distribution problems have been reported across the United States, while many European Union nations are also receiving far fewer doses than expected.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is not yet approved in the U.S, despite approvals in the U.K. and elsewhere, although Germany, Sweden, Austria and Poland recommend against giving it those over 65 due to inconclusive trial data.
Phase 3 trial results last week showed that a vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals provided effective protection against Covid with one shot.
The U.K. has so far vaccinated more than 10 million of its 66 million citizens and its government aims to have vaccinated 15 million, including the most vulnerable groups, by Feb. 15.
With more than 109,000 Covid-related deaths so far, the U.K. has the fifth-highest pandemic death toll in the world.
The four nations with the most deaths, India, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S., all have vastly larger populations.
The U.S. death toll is now more than 450,000, according to the latest NBC News tally.
Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
In an interim distribution plan published Wednesday, the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility said the doses will cover an average of 3.3% of the total population of the 145 countries participating in the initial round of distribution.
The COVAX initiative was launched in April last year to ensure the rapid and equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines to rich and poor countries alike and the vaccination of high-risk groups.
Led by the World Health Organization and numerous other international health groups, it has since been joined by 190 countries, but was shunned by the United States, partly because former President Donald Trump did not want to work with WHO.
The first round of distribution includes 336 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine — 240 million made by the Serum Institute of India and 96 million by AstraZeneca — as well as 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
But the plan is “non-binding and may be subject to change,” with the actual allocation and distribution dependent on a series of caveats, from WHO’s emergency use approval to the readiness of countries to receive and administer the vaccines, the document said.
Both vaccines require two doses to provide full immunity. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine must be stored at minus 75 degrees Celsius, or minus 103 degrees Fahrenheit. In comparison, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine can be kept at refrigerator temperatures of 2C to 8C (36F to 46F) for at least six months, making transport and distribution much easier, especially in developing countries that lack cold storage capacities.
But the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one so far that has secured emergency use approval from WHO. An evaluation of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is currently underway.
Delivery of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is estimated to begin in late February, if all the requirements are met, according to the allocation plan.
“We will soon be able to start delivering life-saving vaccines globally, an outcome we know is essential if we are to have any chance of being able to beat this pandemic,” said Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI alliance, which secures vaccines for poor countries and along with WHO, is one of the initiative’s co-leads.
According to COVAX, the vaccines will be allocated to participating countries proportional to their population size. India, for example, will receive the highest amount — 97 million doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India.
North Korea is also among the list, due to receive nearly 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Pyongyang claims the country has not contracted a single case of Covid-19 — which experts say is likely untrue.
Some wealthy, self-financing countries were also included in the initial distribution plan, such as South Korea, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore.
COVAX is aiming to deliver up to 2 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine to less developed countries by the end of this year, enough to inoculate more than 20% of the populations of its member nations.
But there have long been questions as to whether it could achieve that goal, due to challenges in acquiring sufficient funding and supplies.
Developed countries have bought up most of the initial doses of the available vaccines. But even they have encountered problems in ensuring delivery. The European Union has become embroiled in a public dispute with Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca over alleged delays in vaccine delivery. Last week, the European Commission announced new restrictions that made Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in the bloc subject to export authorization — although COVAX is excluded from the export controls.
The Sacramento County Department of Public health is hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic Saturday for residents 65 years of age and older. County officials say the clinic is open to anyone 65 or older, “regardless of insurance, ability to pay or legal status.”Anyone eligible and interested in receiving the vaccine must register online for an appointment. No walk-ups will be accepted, the county said.| MORE | Register online here“The goal of the clinic is to reach Sacramento’s most vulnerable populations to ensure they receive timely access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” the county said in a press release.Only 1,000 people can be vaccinated at the clinic on a first-come-first-serve basis, officials said. The clinic will be held at the Cristo Rey High School in Sacramento on Saturday from 9 a.m. t0 5 p.m.Once a resident is vaccinated, they will immediately be registered for their follow-up dose. Participants should take identification to verify their age and a copy of their emailed appointment confirmation.Masks will be required and participants should arrive 10 minutes before their appointment time.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
The Sacramento County Department of Public health is hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic Saturday for residents 65 years of age and older.
County officials say the clinic is open to anyone 65 or older, “regardless of insurance, ability to pay or legal status.”
Anyone eligible and interested in receiving the vaccine must register online for an appointment. No walk-ups will be accepted, the county said.
| MORE | Register online here
“The goal of the clinic is to reach Sacramento’s most vulnerable populations to ensure they receive timely access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” the county said in a press release.
Only 1,000 people can be vaccinated at the clinic on a first-come-first-serve basis, officials said.
The clinic will be held at the Cristo Rey High School in Sacramento on Saturday from 9 a.m. t0 5 p.m.
Once a resident is vaccinated, they will immediately be registered for their follow-up dose. Participants should take identification to verify their age and a copy of their emailed appointment confirmation.
Masks will be required and participants should arrive 10 minutes before their appointment time.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that the UK variant of COVID-19 has been found in the state.Authorities said a resident in Ellis County was found to have the United Kingdom, or UK, variant known as B.1.1.7. A case investigation is underway to determine how the person became infected with the variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as if others may have been exposed. No further details are being released concerning the patient, including demographics.The variant was determined through the whole genome sequencing conducted through the laboratories at the KDHE.”This finding does not change our public health recommendations. We continue to encourage people to take the appropriate precautions: follow isolation and quarantine recommendations, practice physical distancing, wearing masks, good hygiene, staying home if ill and getting the vaccine if you are able to, once the supply is sufficient,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary.This variant was first reported in the U.S. at the end of December. Evidence from the UK indicates that this variant spreads much more quickly through the population and, given that fact, may rapidly increase the number of hospitalizations and deaths. Health officials said that more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that the UK variant of COVID-19 has been found in the state.
Authorities said a resident in Ellis County was found to have the United Kingdom, or UK, variant known as B.1.1.7.
A case investigation is underway to determine how the person became infected with the variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as if others may have been exposed. No further details are being released concerning the patient, including demographics.
The variant was determined through the whole genome sequencing conducted through the laboratories at the KDHE.
“This finding does not change our public health recommendations. We continue to encourage people to take the appropriate precautions: follow isolation and quarantine recommendations, practice physical distancing, wearing masks, good hygiene, staying home if ill and getting the vaccine if you are able to, once the supply is sufficient,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary.
This variant was first reported in the U.S. at the end of December. Evidence from the UK indicates that this variant spreads much more quickly through the population and, given that fact, may rapidly increase the number of hospitalizations and deaths. Health officials said that more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
A research team at Imperial College in London used cell phone location data covering more than 10 million people and publicly available information on the spread of the virus to calculate which age groups were most responsible for the spread of the virus across most of the US.
Children accounted for very little spread, the researchers said, as did older adults. This could mean that opening schools may not contribute to spread if transmission is controlled among younger adults, they said.
“This study provides evidence that the resurgent COVID-19 epidemics in the US in 2020 have been driven by adults aged 20-49, and in particular adults aged 35-49, before and after school reopening,” the team wrote in their report, published in the journal Science.
“Unlike pandemic flu, these adults accounted after school reopening in October, 2020 for an estimated 72.2% of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the US locations considered, whereas less than 5% originated from children aged 0-9 and less than 10% from teens aged 10-19.”
And it might be the adults aged 35 to 49 who are the biggest factor in driving the pandemic, as opposed to younger adults, Oliver Ratmann of the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team and colleagues concluded.
“Prior to the implementation of COVID-19 interventions, contacts concentrated among individuals of similar age, were highest among school-aged children and teens, and also common between children/teens and their parents, and middle-aged adults and the elderly. Since the beginning of the pandemic, these contact patterns have changed substantially,” the team wrote.
“This study indicates that in locations where novel highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 lineages have not yet established, additional interventions among adults aged 20-49, such as mass vaccination with transmission-blocking vaccines, could bring resurgent COVID-19 epidemics under control and avert deaths,” they added.
They estimated that people 35 to 49 accounted for 41% of the new transmissions through mid-August, and adults 20 to 34 were responsible for another 35%. Children and teens accounted for just 6% of spread. People 50 to 64 made up 15% of transmission.
“Over time, the share of age groups among reported deaths has been remarkably constant, suggesting that young adults are unlikely to have been the primary source of resurgent epidemics since summer 2020, and that instead changes in mobility and behavior among the broader group of adults aged 20-49 underlie resurgent COVID-19 in the US in 2020,” the team wrote.
Efforts to control virus spread
The researchers said that efforts to control the spread of coronavirus — including vaccination — should probably focus on those aged 20 to 49.
But there is not yet enough vaccine to immunize everyone, and the federal government is working with state and local governments to try to vaccinate people in an orderly, fair and logical way.
Current US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance put frontline healthcare workers and frail long term care facility residents at the front of the vaccine line. The White House under both presidents Trump and Biden has suggested that states open up vaccination to anyone over 65, as this age group is considered most vulnerable to death and severe disease from Covid-19.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday that while older people are more at risk for severe disease, experts have suspected for some time that younger people are driving the spread of the virus in the US.
Fauci did not discount the idea that the US should ensure those aged 20 to 49 get vaccinated but noted that it should not come at the expense of vaccinating older people, especially those with underlying health conditions.
“You don’t want to deprive them to get the younger ones, because they’re the ones that are going to wind up in the hospital and have a higher rate of death,” Fauci told CNN’s Don Lemon. “What we don’t want to do is to neglect them.”
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine at George Washington University and CNN medical analyst, said that while it’s important to vaccinate older people, younger adults should not necessarily be at the back of the line.
“I’ve thought for a while now that the priority groups just aren’t working and that we have to open it up to everyone,” Reiner told CNN’s Jake Tapper Wednesday.
“Now we can set aside, perhaps, a larger percentage of the vaccines for older Americans, but I think we need to start getting the vaccine out into younger people for exactly this reason — the younger people are the people who are spreading the virus,” Reiner added.
The Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines currently available in the US provide protection against severe disease, though it is unclear whether they prevent transmission of the virus.
Researchers have suggested that the type of protection provided by vaccines may have some role in decisions about who should get a vaccine and when.
“Ultimately, everyone has to be vaccinated,” said Reiner. “And if you end up vaccinating older people, you’ll save their lives because they’re at higher risk. And if you vaccinate younger people, you’ll save lives also because they’re spreading the virus.”
A SoulCycle instructor has apologized for “a terrible error in judgment” for calling herself an educator to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
In a since-deleted post on social media, Stacey Griffith, a New York-based fitness instructor, said she filled out paperwork and drove an hour to Staten Island to receive her first dose of the Moderna vaccine, according to The Daily Beast.
“Now I can teach @soulcycle with a little more faith that we’re all gonna be ok if we get the [vaccine],” Griffith’s post read. She told The Daily Beast that her role as an “educator” made her eligible to get in the front of the line for a vaccination.
Her post raised questions and sparked outrage. Mayor Bill de Blasio also called out Griffith’s vaccination as problematic.
“Doesn’t sound like someone who should have gotten vaccinated to me,” he said Sunday at a news conference. “I don’t think someone who shows up and says, ‘Hey, I’m a Soul Cycle instructor,’ should have qualified unless there’s some other factor there. That should have been caught in the application process.”
Initially, Griffith, 52, defended her decision to jump the line and get the Covid-19 jab along with other educators.
“All teachers are eligible to apply for the vaccine. My post today was to show my confidence in the system, in our government, and I hope everyone can at least feel more at ease knowing I went through the process,” she told The Daily Beast.
On Monday, however, Griffith backpedaled and posted a public apology on her Instagram page.
“I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent action in receiving the vaccine,” Griffith wrote. “I made a terrible error in judgment and for that I am truly sorry.”
The spin instructor did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment, and SoulCycle said Griffith operated in a “personal capacity” in applying for the vaccine.
“SoulCycle plays no role in organizing or obtaining vaccinations for instructors or other employees, nor do we encourage any of our SoulCycle employees to seek vaccine priority as educators,” a SoulCycle spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday.
As of now, those who are eligible in New York City for the vaccine include people 65 and older, public-facing grocery store workers, first responders, teachers and school administrators, public transit operators, and people living and working in homeless shelters. But it does not include gym employees or fitness instructors.
According to NBC’s count, officials have administered more than 1 million doses across New York, with only 1.8 percent of the population fully vaccinated in the state.
Evidence from the UK indicates that this variant spreads much more quickly
Updated: 7:09 PM CST Feb 3, 2021
Okay. Hello, everybody. Um, first up our public health care of the week. Uh, today we want to recognize Angela Sauers, who has been the administrator of the Ford County Health Department for over 21 years. In her community, Angela is known for her exceptional responsiveness and is always ready to respond to phone calls or emails. 24 7. Ford County is home, as you know, to to large meatpacking plants, both of which experience Covad 19 outbreaks. Early in the pandemic, Angela partnered with staff members at the plants to ensure that they received the necessary equipment to keep the workers safe. She is also not afraid to try new innovative approaches to virus mitigation. Her health department was one of the first in the state to start using the rapid testing machines. Most of all, Angela cares deeply about the citizens of Ford County, and she never compromises when promoting important health principles, like wearing masks even in the face of stiff opposition. Angela, I thank you for your dedication to the residents of Fort County. Your hard work is appreciated by the people who serve and by the entire state so onto the numbers. Since Monday. Kansas has reported 2247 new positive Covad 19 cases and 86 new deaths. This brings us to a total of 278,915 cases, 8578 hospitalizations and 3895 deaths. Over the past few weeks, we have seen a steady and pretty significant decrease in the number of new cases, and that is good news, and I know that I sound like a broken record. But while we can be reassured by these numbers, we cannot allow them toe lull us into a false sense of security. So hang in there. Continue wearing your masks, avoiding large gatherings on physically distance. So next I’ll move into vaccines. Despite the ongoing nationwide vaccine shortest shortage, Kansas is making progress getting vaccines into arms. As of today, the Kansas Vaccine Dashboard shows that 198,350 Kansans are reported as vaccinated. That’s nearly 7% of our population. This morning I announced the launch of a new tool that will further support our progress over the past couple of weeks. I have mentioned during my briefings that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has been developing an online find my vaccine mapping tool. That tool is now officially live on the website Kansas vaccine dot gov. It stands ready to help Kansans locate sites that are administering vaccines in their communities. Ah, specifically, find my vaccine will allow Kansans to look up nearby Cove in 19 vaccine locations. Identify which locations have recently received doses and access content information for each location to confirm that they’re eligible for the vaccine and the site has doses available. It’s important to remember that because of the national vaccine shortage, many of our enrolled providers do not yet have vaccines to offer for the general public. But we wanted to go ahead and get ahead of the curve. Have this platform ready to go and the public familiar with it. When the supply does meet more of our demand, as more providers sign up and the federal supply of vaccine increase, we will update the information routinely to streamline distribution. We ask that all providers who intend to vaccinate the general public sign up on the find my vaccine tool while the two will be extremely helpful in locating vaccine sites and booking appointments. I want to reiterate that vaccine distribution is still dependent upon federal supply. To move on through Phase two and into the next phases of distribution, we will need to see a significant increase of doses from the federal government. As for the allocations that we’ve received or projected to received next week, we’re expecting to receive 18, 525 prime doses. That’s the first dose on 18,525 booster doses from Pfizer from Madonna. Next week, we’re expecting 25,700 prime doses and 17,800 boosters. That’s a total of 80,000, 550 doses. For those of you who are trying to figure that out, you remember that just two weeks ago we were receiving around 45,000 doses per week. So it’s progress. Before I take questions. I want to provide an update on the Kansas Department of Labor’s efforts to combat the number of fraudulent unemployment insurance claims coming in. As you may know, the Labor Department’s in states across the country have experienced an onslaught of fraudulent claims since the pandemic began. That’s why our agency shutdown services over the weekend to allow them to install new fraud. Protection Program services were back online yesterday morning, and I can report that the new program is doing the job. Justus We had hoped. As of, uh, just moments ago, the department has blocked more than 601,000 fraudulent log in attempts since opening up yesterday morning at 7 a.m. We know that challenges and set back at the Department of Labor have been hard on Kansans. But what can’t get lost in all of this is the work that her team of the Department of Labor has done. The number of complaints is higher than we have ever seen. Number complainants rather is higher than we’ve ever seen, and all are being processed by an I T system that was implemented in the 19 seventies. The Department of Labor staff has processed 3.9 million weekly claims totalling over 200 $2.6 billion between regular unemployment and the federal pandemic programs. To put this in perspective prior to the pandemic, it took eight years to get to $2.6 billion in claims in 2020. It took eight months. This new fraud protection program will remove a huge burden from our labor staff and allow them to spend more time helping Kansans and less time chasing fraud. And with that, I’ll take some questions. Governor, I’m so getting some angry from people can’t get through Fraud hotline one. Just I was me. You can’t write these income groups on each year suggested. And Sean Tarwater told mhm always did either. They’re completely in where they’re hiding something big, and I think it’s the What do you? What do you say to all that? There’s this. There’s this. There’s this perception, this language, this discussion out there about what a mess hard. Well, I’m not going to deny that. It has been a tough road on that. Many Kansans have been frustrated by, uh, the inadequacy of the system that is, you know, 40 45 years old, to handle the surge of requests that we have received beginning last march. Uh, in terms of representive Tarwater. You know, I appreciate the fact that he really wants this Department of Labor system to get up and running better. Um, I would like for him to consider, um, addressing again the issue of the penalty of if you if you get one. If you If you have a one violation on unemployment, uh, you then get thrown out of the system for five years. You know, Representative Tarwater was instrumental in getting that passage, uh, of that bill in 2013 that has created huge hardship of four Kansas. I think we’ve got about 7000 Kansans who did not know, uh, that they had been thrown out of unemployment and found that out when the pandemic hit. So representative Tarwater is sincere in wanting this toe work better than I am open toe working with him to make that happen. Ministrations doing anything in regards to over victims in relation to August play? Yes. No. Well, you know, we were asking those one. I want people to be reassured that, uh, it wasn’t the department of labor who exposed all of their identity information that happened. You know, the fraudsters got that information off, you know, the dark web and then used it to infiltrate our system and every other state system. So I just want people to rest assured that you know, there’s there’s not a We have done what we think we can dio now to prevent the fraud claims I’m coming in and stealing your identity. That’s what we did this past weekend, putting in those more secure log in. So we’ve done that. Um And then we also we do have a website where people can go and report. It s o that, you know, it’s known that this happened to them on they don’t get penalized, and then we we do expect, though Azaz the 10 90 nines or sent out that there are gonna be people who are gonna get these 10 99 saying, you know, that they owe on we We’ve got a hotline set up for that and we were setting up a completely distinct call center to deal with those issues. So way know it’s there on we expect that there will be problems and we’re setting up a response team. You announced money lawmakers. She is. I think they’re still mulling it around. I e s o. I have not gotten any direct feedback from any one or any legislators at all. No governor on the vaccine or state employees get, uh, some, uh, there are some who have been vaccinated myself, for instance, Um uh, on others who fell within our the continuance of operation plan eso those folks on then people they reside with have been receiving vaccines. And you know that the Senate is at some point soon Probably its resolution. Yeah. Version of policy policy on prison inmates without right. What do you I I saw that that was going on, and I continue to believe that we’re doing the right thing. You know, we’re following, uh, CDC guidelines public health guidelines to vaccinate those folks who live in congregate settings. Eso within the prison population. We are, at this point vaccinating staff. We had already done, uh, staff who worked in the medical units at our correctional facilities. Now we’re moving on to the correctional officers themselves. They will. They’ll get vaccinated. And then when we have finished with the staff, we will move on on begin with inmates who are 65 or older. Thank you very hard. Yeah. Talk about both weekend. Me worried about that holiday? Well, this is certainly holiday coming upto people that support the Kansas City Chiefs That’s true. Yeah, we We don’t want this to be a super spreader weekend. Andi. I think that the same admonishments remain, which is, um, small gatherings, social distancing. I recognize that people let their hair down during a big event like this, but the the request that they continue to show good anti contagion measures like we’ve been doing all along still remains secretaries. I don’t get that vaccine E C. A lot of places that are missing places. All right, incorrectly label received doses. Wonder later to train. Uh huh. There, this is gonna leave some more confusion. And this is for the find. My vaccine tool. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. There are some gaps and spaces in there. We’ve reached out to a lot of providers. There’s a lot that air in the process of registering. Ah, lot of its de motivator toe. Have a dot on a map without having any prospect of having any vaccine anytime soon. Onda, we have a terrific capacity in there with the current number of dots on the map toe increase multiples of what we’re receiving. Now you’re going to see that get more and more populated way updated every day assistant secretary. Other states they’re diverting. There are a lot device. Go to Walgreens was going to care. Broken your other. What staff alone from Paris. That’s something of mercy system into have a job based on just allowed risk. Yeah. Yeah. The question is about redistribution of vaccine, and we do have a very active redistribution process, including the National Pharmacy Partnership Program that is serving long term care. Uh, the uptake by staff has been not as brisk as we would like it. T b ah. Lot are, uh, what I would call delaying their decision making on that. And they’ve come out and said that, and matter of fact, we’re vaccinating people that differed initially, So I’m optimistic that there will be increased uptake, but we don’t let those vials and those doses goto waste. We do redistribute those for other purposes. The last question, uh, and you tell me whether or not you like Yeah, expand community provision passed. Yeah, well, intensifying that. Making a retroactive. The last. Yeah. Uh, Tim, I’m going to I don’t know the details of that. So I’m a little low to respond. I do know that. Yeah, we tried to walk a fine line in what was reasonable liability protections to give to our nursing facilities. But what still protected, uh, consumers. So I’ll need to look at that and see, uh, what it looks like. And, uh, you know, then make some judgment north. Let’s see where and so seem to be a big mess. Yeah. I mean, they’re obviously there. Have there have been some issues and I think that’s why we tried to thread that needles. You know, there there are some things you really can’t covert related that you really cannot hold an employer responsible for, uh or owner of a business responsible for. And we wanted to provide that for a nursing facilities without going so far that if you know, liability doesn’t protect negligence and those kinds of we don’t want to make sure that we didn’t push it over so that it did
UK variant of COVID-19 found in Kansas
Evidence from the UK indicates that this variant spreads much more quickly
Updated: 7:09 PM CST Feb 3, 2021
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that the UK variant of COVID-19 has been found in the state.Authorities said a resident in Ellis County was found to have the United Kingdom, or UK, variant known as B.1.1.7. A case investigation is underway to determine how the person became infected with the variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as if others may have been exposed. No further details are being released concerning the patient, including demographics.The variant was determined through the whole genome sequencing conducted through the laboratories at the KDHE.”This finding does not change our public health recommendations. We continue to encourage people to take the appropriate precautions: follow isolation and quarantine recommendations, practice physical distancing, wearing masks, good hygiene, staying home if ill and getting the vaccine if you are able to, once the supply is sufficient,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary.This variant was first reported in the U.S. at the end of December. Evidence from the UK indicates that this variant spreads much more quickly through the population and, given that fact, may rapidly increase the number of hospitalizations and deaths. Health officials said that more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that the UK variant of COVID-19 has been found in the state.
Authorities said a resident in Ellis County was found to have the United Kingdom, or UK, variant known as B.1.1.7.
A case investigation is underway to determine how the person became infected with the variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as if others may have been exposed. No further details are being released concerning the patient, including demographics.
The variant was determined through the whole genome sequencing conducted through the laboratories at the KDHE.
“This finding does not change our public health recommendations. We continue to encourage people to take the appropriate precautions: follow isolation and quarantine recommendations, practice physical distancing, wearing masks, good hygiene, staying home if ill and getting the vaccine if you are able to, once the supply is sufficient,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary.
This variant was first reported in the U.S. at the end of December. Evidence from the UK indicates that this variant spreads much more quickly through the population and, given that fact, may rapidly increase the number of hospitalizations and deaths. Health officials said that more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
