Nebraska planning next phase of COVID-19 vaccine rollout

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - There’s a new tool that allows Nebraskans to see COVID-19 vaccine-related information.

The COVID-19 vaccination dashboard can be found on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website. It’s similar to the state’s COVID-19 cases dashboard.

The dashboard tracks how many of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses the state has received, how many have been administered, and how many people have received two doses of the vaccine.

There is also a timeline of the phases in which groups of people can get vaccinated. The state is currently in Phase 1A.

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“We’re probably about a third of the way through that so far,” Gov. Pete Ricketts said.

But officials said Monday that Nebraska is quickly approaching Phase 1B, which starts with people 75 years of age and older.

As other states started vaccinating this population, they ran into several issues including long lines and wait times, a lack of supplies, and confusion on how to register to get the vaccine.

Nebraska officials said Monday that they are working on a plan to hopefully avoid many of these issues.

“We will be introducing a website in the coming weeks so, they can be informed when their priority group is ready to be vaccinated and also to assist with scheduling and follow-up reminders,” said Angie Ling, incident commander with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

There’s will be a plan for those who cannot access the website, she said.

“Your healthcare provider can register you. I presume that if you are going to a federally qualified healthcare clinic, they’ll be able to do that,” Ricketts added.

Local health departments are also working on setting up mobile clinics in certain areas.

“So, there will be multiple ways that people will have access to vaccinations moving forward,” Ling said.

The general public isn’t set to get vaccinated until May.