TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – State soldiers are now getting the coronavirus shot. First and second doses of the coronavirus vaccine were given out to Air and Army National Guard members at Forbes Field in Topeka.
This was the second distribution like it. Some people are in phase one, others are in phase two.
Vaccines come from the United State Department of Defense and are not part of the state’s allotment. So far the guard has been given 1,100 vaccines, with more to come. When a member is able to get a shot depends on how critical their mission is.
Kansas Adjutant General David Weishaar said things have looked different during the pandemic for the guard.
“We have not compromised any mission requirements because of COVID. We have compromised some training requirements but it has not impacted our mission negatively,” Weishaar said.
Governor Laura Kelly and Department of Health and Environment Secretary Lee Norman toured the distribution site on Friday.
Some have called on the governor to use the military to help deliver vaccines, but she said it’s not practical with the low supply the state is currently receiving.
“The fact of the matter is we don’t have the vaccines. Until we get the quantity of vaccines that would justify both setting up the mass vaccination sites and deploying the guard to assist, it’s more of a photo-op than it is a reality,” Kelly said.
Kelly said the guard is there if the state needs it. She said the state is preparing for large-scale vaccination when the time comes.