Sedgwick County is lining up more staff and volunteers for its COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
Deputy County Manager Tim Kaufman says in order to get more residents vaccinated each day, the county needs more people to give shots.
The county health department is also trying to add personnel to be ready for when its allotted vaccine supply increases. Currently, the state health department sends Sedgwick County about 7,000 vaccine doses each week.
Kaufman says the county is using several temporary staffing agencies to find workers.
“There are folks who don’t want to do this type of work because of the transmissibility of COVID-19,” Kaufman said. “So there are people who are qualified to do the work, but don’t want to do this type of work.”
The county is also recruiting medical and non-medical volunteers. Kaufman says the county activated its Medical Reserve Corp volunteer program to support the vaccination clinics.
“We could always use more volunteers particularly if they are licensed in such a way that they are able to give shots,” Kaufman said.
If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, there is an application available on the Sedgwick County website.
Kaufman says the county is considering moving the vaccination clinic at Intrust Bank Arena to a permanent location. A separate drive-thru clinic at the Wichita Transit Operations Center is expected to continue for at least three more weeks.
The county reduced the number of daily vaccination appointments to about 1,100 this week due to the cold weather.
