Barton County anticipates receiving a limited number of COVID-19 vaccine doses (350) on Monday and will conduct a drive-through, first-come first-served vaccination clinic at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, at the Expo III Building west of Great Bend. Eligible participants are based on KDHE guidance to vaccinate persons aged 65+, those in congregate settings and high-contact critical workers as outlined in Phase 2 of the Governor’s plan. Only those individuals will be included in this event.

Due to the limited number of vaccine doses Barton County has received, it is likely the event will end before 5 p.m. Barton County anticipates receiving more vaccine in the near future and will continue to host additional drive-through clinics as soon as possible.

It is not required, however, to expedite their vaccination, eligible persons may visit www.bartoncounty.org to download and complete the vaccine consent form found under the COVID 19 tab.

Second doses available Wednesday morning

Barton County will also receive 600 of the COVID-19 vaccine booster doses for individuals that received their first dose on or before Jan. 27. Those individuals may receive their second dose when the county conducts a drive-through vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday at the Expo III. Those who received their first COVID-19 vaccination within that timeframe are automatically on the list for the second dose.

County Administrator Phil Hathcock stated, “Please do not call to make an appointment; second doses will only be administered during this timeframe. If you for some reason are not able to accommodate this schedule, your name will be placed on the list for second doses at the next drive-through event.”

The manufacturer of the vaccine, Moderna, suggests the interval between the first and second dose is 28 days.

Again, to expedite their vaccination, eligible persons may visit www.bartoncounty.org to download and complete the vaccine consent form found under the COVID-19 tab.

Statewide

As of Monday afternoon, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reports 11.6% of Kansans – 339,190 people – have been vaccinated with at least one dose and 144,015 people have received the second dose.

Here are the numbers of “first doses” being allocated to area counties for the week of Feb. 22, according to the KDHE website: Barton 500; Rice 200; Ellsworth, Pawnee, Russell, 100 each; Rush and Stafford, 0.

KDHE reports that as of 9 a.m. Monday, there have been 291,715 COVID-19 cases in Kansas, resulting in 9,103 hospitalizations and 4,643 statewide deaths. There were 883 new cases, 29 new deaths and 32 new hospitalizations reported since Friday, Feb. 19.

Here are the total confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases for area counties, followed by total deaths:

• Barton 2,564 cases (+11 since Wednesday, Feb. 17), 48 deaths (+1)

• Ellsworth 1,203 (+1), 21

• Pawnee 1,132 (+2), 14

• Rice 1,048 (+10), 11 (+1)

• Rush 834 (+11), 12

• Russell 834 (+6), 27

• Stafford 333 (+3), 9