The Harvey County health department received about 500 initial doses of the vaccine, which have been designated for health care workers.

Harvey County EMS, NMC’s front-line health providers, respiratory therapy, laboratory, imaging, and various outlying clinics are of the first priority groups on campus to begin the vaccination process, NMC infection control nurse Michelle Starks, RN, said.

“Many of the prioritizations were mandated by the CDC,” Starks said. Health Department officials say they are working with the Kansas Department of Health to establish more than two-dozen sites in the county to distribute the vaccine. The county’s school districts are included in those sites.