As Lyon County Public Health’s COVID vaccination waitlist continues to grow, administrators are certain allocations will continue to adequately meet the growing demand.
That was the consensus during Lyon County Public Health’s latest update to Lyon County Commissioners Thursday morning. Public Health Incident Commander Renee Hively says the county has received its latest shipment of COVID vaccines, 600 doses to be exact, and at a perfect time.
Hively reported the waitlist, established Tuesday, has now grown to nearly 3,000 individuals. When asked if she feels the incoming vaccination allocations will be able to meet the ever-growing demand, Hively stated she is pleased with the current progress.
A question was posed during the report as to whether or not those who have already had COVID-19 should receive the vaccine. Hively says it is still recommended, however, as COVID patients have 90 days of immunity following contracting the disease, she says Public Health is suggesting they take that time to allow those in more urgent need of the vaccine to receive it.
Public Health Officer Dr. Ladun Oyenuga also mentioned the variant COVID-19 strain which first appeared in the UK has made its way into the state of Kansas with a confirmed case in Ellis County. Dr. Oyenuga says this is a worrisome development, but one that is manageable.
Public Health will return for its next update to County Commissioners next week.
In other business, commissioners approved a rezoning application within the metropolitan planning area presented by Emporia Zoning Specialist Joe Foster. The applicant, Terra LLC, is seeking to rezone a seven-acre parcel of land located in the 1800 block of Road G within the Slate Rock Subdivision.
Terra is in the process of selling the land to an undisclosed trucking company according to Foster. Further details are pending.
In other business, Lyon County Emergency Communications Center Director Roxanne Van Gundy presented two expenditures for county approval. The first was for the center’s annual 911 call handling system fee costing $73,820 and approval of payment for a new server for the center’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system totaling $16,843.
Both requests were approved. Finally, commissioners also approved a renewal of the county’s agreement with Casey Family Programs for 2021 as presented by Lyon County Community Corrections Director Steve Willis.
The Lyon County Commission will meet for its regular action session next Thursday inside the Lyon County Courthouse at 9 am.
