Dear Colleagues –
Our collective vaccination efforts continue to show results: more than one-third (34.2%) of Kansans have received one dose, and more than one in five (21%) of Kansans are fully vaccinated. We also continue to see improvement in vaccine administration rates for racial and ethnic minorities as data gaps are addressed and at-risk communities are identified for vaccine clinics. Governor Kelly's office has launched an outreach campaign to these communities over the past several weeks, including visits by Governor Kelly to vaccination sites across the state from Finney to Wyandotte Counties. While vaccination rates are increasing statewide, our continued focus remains on improving vaccine uptake by focusing our messaging, ensuring safety for our citizens, and engaging our underserved communities.
Kansas pauses administration of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine:
Following guidance from the CDC this week, KDHE announced that it was pausing the administration of the J&J vaccine. Of the approximately seven million J&J doses administered nationally, there are six reports of recipients who developed a rare blood clot within about two weeks of vaccination. While no known cases have been reported in Kansas to date, Governor Kelly announced the measure to ensure Kansans remain confident in the safety and efficacy of all available COVID-19 vaccines: “Just as important as getting vaccines into arms – is making sure those vaccines are safe,” she noted. KDHE’s press release can be found here and updates to follow in future correspondence.
Kansas is working to continue generating demand for the vaccine:
As of April 13, Kansas’s vaccination rate has improved to 54.2K current doses administered per 100K people. To build upon these efforts, we are focused on improving access and refining our communications efforts. For example, in response to the national hesitancy survey which identified providers as a desired channel for vaccine distribution, we are examining ways to boost direct distribution to providers who are part of broader health systems while activating local health departments to ensure vaccine availability for smaller physician practices. Additionally, efforts to bolster traditional and digital media campaigns have become a priority for Governor Kelly: Plans are being reviewed that will accelerate and expand messaging to Kansans in the near-term, including the expansion of the “Roll Up Your Sleeves” campaign and the creation of messaging reinforcing vaccine safety and its ability to help Kansas open back up.
Kansas is steadily improving equity in vaccine administrations:
A new NGA report has outlined state best practices for addressing vaccine equity. Kansas has been implementing many of these practices, including
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Addressing race and ethnicity data gaps by reporting data. Reporting race and ethnicity data is fundamental to ensuring vaccine access to historically marginalized populations who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. To that end, the KDHE dashboard tracks, among other things, vaccination rates and progress by race and ethnicity at the statewide level.
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Increasing vaccine access by targeting at-risk communities. Gaps in access to COVID-19 vaccination sites is a root cause of disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates. Therefore, Kansas is engaged in standing up vaccine sites serving historically underserved or at-risk populations, including, for example, meat-packing employees who have experienced disproportionately high contraction rates.
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Promoting community leadership to meet the goals of equity and speed. To support quick and equitable vaccine distribution, states must develop strategies that address systemic barriers to access, support community leadership, and increase data collection to identify and reassess allocation patterns. To develop and execute on these strategies, Kansas has engaged the Kansas Leadership Center to (a) spearhead outreach by activating their network and (b) develop culturally appropriate and multilingual media and communications material.
- As a result of these efforts, Black, Asian, and Hispanic populations have seen a 4-week increase of vaccinations per capita of 97%, 180%, and 96% respectively.
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To build off existing momentum, Governor Kelly will kick off Kansas' COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Taskforce today at 2 PM to encourage coordination and communication between community leaders, key stakeholders, and the Administration. The meeting can be viewed on Governor Kelly’s YouTube channel.
Kansas is tracking the Brazilian COVID-19 variant:
This week, the CDC informed the State that the Brazilian or P.1 variant has been identified in Sedgwick county. While this variant has been found in 31 states and territories, there is still much to learn about its severity. However, vaccines are known to provide strong protection against severe illness and death resulting from this new variant, thus underscoring the importance of the State’s vaccine accessibility and outreach efforts. State and national health officials are closely monitoring variant developments and updates to follow in future correspondence. KDHE’s press release on the subject can be found here.
Ad Astra per Aspera,
Marci Nielsen, PhD, MPH
Chief Advisor for COVID-19 Coordination, Governor Laura Kelly
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