Cloud County Health Department Gets First Supply of Updated COVID-19 Vaccine

The updated COVID-19 vaccine will be available at the Cloud County Health Department in Concordia, starting on Wednesday, October 25th.

Tonya Sulanka, Cloud County Health Department Administrator, told the Cloud County Commissioners this week that they received their first supply of the new COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government's Bridge Access Program, which provides COVID-19 vaccines to adults without health insurance and adults whose insurance does not cover all COVID-19 vaccine costs.

Updated COVID-19 vaccines are available to most adults living in the United States through their private health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid plans.  However, there are 25 to 30 million adults without health insurance and additional adults whose insurance does not cover all COVID-19 vaccine costs.  The Bridge Access Program will use existing public health infrastructure to help maintain access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.

COVID-19 vaccines will be offered during the Cloud County Health Department's Walk-In Wednesdays every Wednesday from 8 am to 4:30 pm.  If you have any questions, please call the Cloud County Health Department at (785) 243-8140.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 illness this fall and winter.  Vaccination remains the best protection against COVID-19-related hospitalization and death.  Vaccination also reduces your chance of suffering the effects of Long COVID, which can develop during or following acute infection and last for an extended duration.   The virus that causes COVID-19 is always changing, and protection from COVID-19 vaccines declines over time.  Receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine can restore protection and provide enhanced protection against the variants currently responsible for most infections and hospitalizations in the United States.