OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska officials expect nearly 70,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines to be available this week as they continue to work to distribute more shots.
The state said 69,600 vaccine doses total should be released in Nebraska this week, up from 61,750 a week ago. Most of those vaccines are being distributed through local health departments, but nearly 6,000 doses will go to a new program that is just getting started to distribute vaccines directly through some retail pharmacies.
Health departments across the state have started to vaccinate people 65 and older and some workers who can't do their jobs remotely. Initially, the priority was to vaccinate health care workers and residents and workers at long-term care facilities.
The new retail pharmacy program will help vaccinate people 65 and older, but Nebraska officials haven't yet released details of which pharmacies will be included and when they will begin giving shots.
So far, nearly 166,000 Nebraskans have registered at the state's vaccine website, vaccinate.ne.gov. to be notified when they become eligible.
The state said 234,132 doses of the vaccines have been administered across Nebraska, and roughly 4.6% of the state's population has received both required doses.
Nebraska reported 344 new virus cases and 10 deaths Monday for a total of 194,170 cases and 1,978 deaths since the pandemic began. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska decreased from 738.43 new cases per day on Jan. 25 to 410.86 new cases per day on Monday.