Allen County vaccination rate nears 28%

Kansas has vaccinated 30.7% of residents with at least one dose and 17.5% who are fully vaccinated. Allen County has vaccinated 278 per 1,000 residents. A vaccination clinic is offered to all Allen County adults beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Riverside Park Community Building.

April 6, 2021 - 9:42 AM

Register reporter Richard Luken gets his second COVID vaccine shot from Allen County Health Department’s Megan Neville. The vaccines are free. Photo by Vickie Moss / Iola Register

Nearly 28% of Allen County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to statistics from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Those numbers could improve, though, with Wednesday’s first public clinic open to all county residents age 18. The doors open at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Riverside Park Community Building.

The numbers show 278 doses given for every 1,000 residents.

That’s slightly less than the state average. Kansas has vaccinated 30.7% with at least one dose, and 17.5% who have been fully vaccinated. That translates to 895,712 Kansans who have received at least one shot, and 509,633 who are fully vaccinated.

Allen County’s vaccination rate is one of the higher rates in the immediate region and the best among the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department’s six-county service area.

Here are the rates per thousand residents for comparison:

• Allen, 278

• Anderson, 265.3

• Bourbon, 222

• Cherokee, 202.2

• Coffey, 294

• Crawford, 314.3

• Labette, 302.1

• Linn, 234.9

• Montgomery, 260.9

• Neosho, 297.2

• Wilson, 272.8

• Woodson, 255.9

THE HEALTH department will provide this week’s vaccination clinic to anyone age 18 and older. The clinic is scheduled to last until 3 p.m., but could end earlier if the vaccine runs out.

Those who attend are asked not to arrive earlier than 9:30 a.m. The second dose will be given on May 5, so those who attend should make sure they are available for that date.

Attendees should wear short sleeves to provide easy access to the arm for the injection, and layer with outer clothes if necessary.

Masks must be worn.

It will save time if you bring a completed consent form. Forms are available on our website (www.sekmchd.com) and at these locations: Allen County Health Department, Iola Recreation Department, G&W Iola, Allen County Courthouse, and Iola Public Library.

You cannot take the COVID-19 Vaccine at this time if you:

· Had any vaccine within the last 14 days (flu, shingles, etc.)

· Are in isolation or quarantine

· Received Bamlivinimab as treatment for COVID-19 within the last 90 days

So far, the SEKMCHD has administered 2,365 vaccine doses, though those figures do not indicate how many are first or second doses.