SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Missouri has officially entered a new phase in its COVID-19 vaccination plan.
Monday marks the start of Phase 1B, Tier 2, which focuses on helping people who are pregnant or adults over the age of 65 who are at risk for serious illnesses related to the coronavirus. People with a learning disability or developmental disability are also eligible.
If you are not in these categories, you may have to wait.
“We are limited by the amount of vaccine we get,” said Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. “We don’t have control over that, so what we do have control over is to make sure that once we have it, it gets spread.”
About 200,000 vaccines have been administered nationwide as of Sunday. It is a far cry from the number of people who are now eligible to receive it.
“As you can imagine, the universe of 1B, Tier 1 and 2 and 1A has nearly 3 million people,” said Dr. Williams. “That’s half the state of Missouri.”
But the supply of incoming vaccines is slow, which Dr. Williams is not unexpected.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we only get 70,000 vaccines a week, or 74,000-80,000, I think now,” said Dr. Williams.
That means most will have to wait to receive it even after signing up.
“We’re going to need people who are patient as we work through that universe of three million people,” he said.
But while it has been a slow process so far, Dr. Williams hope for the future.
“As we look around the state and see the morbidity and mortality the virus has caused, we’re incredibly grateful to now have a resource that we think will get us to a much better place in Missouri, and fairly quickly, I think me in May or June. “
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