COVID-19 vaccination numbers are moving up in Lyon County, albeit very slowly.
Lyon County had reached 60 percent full vaccination status when the eligible age range was 12 and up. Once the eligible age dropped to 5 last fall, vaccination percentages understandably dropped because of the larger population pool and have climbed to 59 percent full vaccination, based on recent data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Another stat that concerns Lyon County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern is the population receiving the booster dose.
Millbern says there is a lower amount of vaccine being delivered, but part of that could be connected to the number of people who got COVID-19 in January — and the fact that you can’t get vaccinated if you’re ill.
If you want to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination, call the Flint Hills Community Health Center at 620-342-4864 or your local pharmacist during regular business hours. You can also call Healthier Lyon County at 620-208-3218 if you want to schedule an appointment for its clinic from 2-8 pm Friday at Emporia Main Steet, 729 Commercial.
Public Health says Lyon County had 2,572 new cases between Jan. 3-28, the equivalent of over 10 percent of Emporia’s population of about 24,400. Over 9,400 people have contracted the virus since the pandemic started in March 2020, the equivalent of 28.5 percent of the county’s total estimated population of around 33,000. Lyon County’s next data set is coming Monday afternoon.
