KANSAS CITY, Kan. — COVID-19 infections are down, but so are vaccinations and now one health department in the Kansas City area is taking a different approach that includes saying goodbye to its mass clinic.
On March 30, a mass COVID-19 testing and vaccination site inside the former K-Mart on State Avenue will close.
The clinic is operated by the Unified Government Public Health Department.
“I want to be clear that closing our mass operation center does not signal the end of the pandemic," Brandi Dickerson, with the Unified Government Public Health Department, said. "We’re using this time between peaks to work strategically with our community partners to make multiple locations throughout the community, to better serve our Wyandotte County residents for vaccinations and testing for when the next wave occurs.”
According to the health department, 62% of Wyandotte County residents have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 52% of residents have completed their vaccination series.
Wyandotte County resident Toylea Jackson visited the clinic site to get her booster dose.
“I want to be fully protected as much as possible," Jackson said. "So, when it comes back if I do get sick it won’t be that bad."
Dickerson said the department would be ready to bring back their mass clinic if there's a surge in COVID-19 infections and said lot's of planning has gone into the logistics.
“From what the site looks like, to how do we utilize this site? How do we run our lanes? How do we move the most people through in the least amount of time?" Dickerson said. "Also, we need to get our staff in order. We need nursing staff, we need nonclinical staff, volunteers, we rely heavily on volunteers as well. So, it’s getting our staffing in place which we can do in a relatively short amount of time.”
Large clinics are not exclusive to Wyandotte County. Early in the pandemic, Platte County held a mass clinic in Riverside.
Aaron Smullin, with the Platte County Health Department, explained public interest has declined over time.
"We have reduced our clinics because of that lack of demand," Smullin said.
Just like Wyandotte County, Smullin added the department would be ready if cases surge.
"We would likely increase the number of vaccine clinics that we would hold here at our Platte City office, we would also continue to expand outreach," he said.
Platte County Health Department advertised on Twittera future clinic on Friday, April 1, at their Platte City location.
Appointments can also be made from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday through Friday at their Parkville office.
At the mass clinic site in Wyandotte County, the last day for people to get vaccinated is March 25 and the last day for testing is March 30.
Vaccine appointments are available in Wyandotte County by calling (913)-573-8855.
