Health care workers in Wichita were among the first in the state to get the new COVID-19 vaccination.
Five employees of the Ascension Via Christi health system received shots at St. Francis Hospital Monday. The hospital says a critical care nurse, a housekeeper for a COVID-19 unit and a respiratory therapist were among those who were vaccinated. Frontline health workers at other Ascension Via Christi facilities in Kansas will receive the vaccination later this week.
State health officials expect to receive about 24,000 vaccine doses this week, with more shipments due to arrive in the next few weeks. The state's vaccine distribution plan calls for giving the first shots to health care workers at high risk of coronavirus exposure and to staff and residents at nursing homes.
Under Phase 2 of the state's distribution plan, essential workers and medically at-risk residents could have the two-dose vaccine by this spring.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use on Friday; doses began rolling out to states Monday. Kansas is distributing its vaccines via five ultra-cold storage locations across the state. Vaccine packages will be delivered directly to hospitals, pharmacies and clinics.
Officials say vaccinations for the general public could begin late spring.
