TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Gov. Laura Kelly plans to get a COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday as part of a larger plan to give shots to selected Kansas officials so that state government can continue to operate during the pandemic.
The Democratic governor confirmed her plans Monday during an impromptu interview at the Statehouse following a ceremony marking the weeklong Kwanzaa celebration of African-American heritage. She told The Associated Press last week that the state was looking at giving shots to people in state agencies, the Republican-controlled Legislature and the state court system.
The state so far has concentrated on vaccinating health care workers. Kelly’s staff has repeatedly said that she will get vaccinated when it was “her turn.”
“That would be my turn,” she said. “I will get vaccinated on Wednesday.”
Kelly said she would get the first of two vaccine shots during a news conference and added, chuckling, “You can have the thrill of your life.”
Kelly’s husband, first gentleman and Dr. Ted Daughety, received the first of two coronavirus vaccine shots last week. He is a pulmonologist and sleep disorder specialist who came out of retirement earlier this month help screen patients at a clinic awaiting surgery for COVID-19 and other diseases.
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