Some Kansas counties turn down COVID vaccine as demand slows

MISSION, Kan. (AP) – Some Kansas counties are rejecting new COVID-19 vaccine shipments or reducing their orders because of decreased demand for the drugs, worrying health officials who say mass vaccinations are the only path to a return to normalcy.

Kansas Association of Local Health Departments executive director Dennis Kriesel said Friday that the shift occurred in the past couple weeks.

The state opened vaccine eligibility on March 29 to all residents 16 and older. That led to an uptick in demand in mostly urban areas, but some rural counties already had already begun vaccinating anyone of age who requested it.

Nearly four months into the vaccination effort, providers are beginning to run out of people who want to be immunized.