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Kansas continues vaccination efforts
84,555 COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far
vaccine 1-6-21 in expo III
Vehicles are lined up inside Expo III as the Barton County Health Department runs a drive-through vaccination effort on Jan. 6. - photo by Susan Thacker

Kansas no longer appears to be lagging behind other U.S. states in administering doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that as of 8 a.m. Monday, nearly 9 million Americans had received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.

The CDC reports 78,268 Kansans have received their first dose of the vaccine, which is 2,687 people per 100,000 population. A week earlier, when Kansas was at 690 first doses per 100,000, it ranked last in the 50 states for vaccination initiation. Now, Kansas is in the same category as most states, with more than 2,000 doses per 100,000. States in the 1,001-2,000 doses per 100,000 range are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina.

Kansas WebIZ is reporting 84,555 doses have been administered in Kansas as of 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 11.



Cases statewide

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reports that, as of 9 a.m. Monday, Jan. 11, there have been 247,502 COVID-19 cases, resulting in 7,351 hospitalizations and 3,255 statewide deaths. There were 5,180 new cases, 107 new deaths and 94 new hospitalizations reported since Friday, Jan. 8.

KDHE’s total of positive and probable COVID-19 cases for area counties as of 9 a.m. Monday: Barton, 2,359; Ellsworth, 1,115; Pawnee, 1,045; Rice, 901; Rush, 370; Russell, 766; Stafford, 296.

The summary of total COVID-19 deaths for these counties: Barton, 37; Ellsworth, 16; Pawnee, 8; Rice, 4; Rush, 9; Russell, 18; Stafford, 8.

The summary of COVID-19 hospitalizations:

• Barton, 73 total, 18 intensive care unit admissions, 7 mechanical ventilation, 52 discharged

• Ellsworth, 4 total, 4 discharged

• Pawnee, 36 total, 8 ICU admissions, 20 discharged

• Rice, 15 total, 4 ICU, 10 discharged

• Rush, 34 total, 4 ICU, 1 mechanical ventilation, 24 discharged

• Russell, 25 total, 15 ICU, 4 mechanical ventilation, 7 discharged

• Stafford, 12 total, 4 ICU, 1 mechanical ventilation, 7 discharged.

This is according to data reported by health-care providers and local health departments into the electronic disease surveillance system EpiTrax. Discharge data only includes cases with available discharge information reported to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.


USD 428

Great Bend USD 428 had few new cases to report during and after the winter break. Students returned to school on Jan. 5. USD 428 reports that on Thursday, Jan. 7, it was notified that a staff member at Lincoln Elementary School had tested positive. There were no close contacts with this person in the school.