WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Vaccinations to protect the public from COVID-19 slowed last month in Kansas, even as more contagious variants of the coronavirus surged and hospitalizations from the disease rose in the state, according Kansas health officials.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment numbers show about 91,000 fewer people received first doses of the available vaccines in April than in March, the Wichita Eagle reported. There were 520 new hospitalizations and 157 new ICU admissions in April, compared with 438 new hospitalizations and 150 new ICU admissions in March, officials said.

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