SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – More than 4,000 people were vaccinated Friday on the second day of Springfield’s mass vaccination event.
The event sets a record for the most single dose COVID-19 vaccines delivered in one day. Health leaders administered 4,385 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Friday at the Hammons Student Center at Missouri State University.
The record comes on the same day that Missouri made the vaccine accessible to all adults. It broke the one-day record of 3,999 vaccines administered in St. Charles County earlier this year.
More than 6,100 people were fully vaccinated for two days, which falls short of the county’s original goal of 10,000. The last vaccinations ended around 5 p.m. on Friday.
People began submitting early Friday morning and doubled Thursday’s total vaccinations at 11 a.m.
“(It was) sure busy,” said Jon Mooney, deputy director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. “The first day it will be open to all Missouri residents 18 and older for this event. We use Johnson & Johnson so it’s one dose, okay, it just comes in, you take care of everything in one step. “
That’s exactly what Marji McAllister did Friday morning.
“I was here at about 10:15 AM, my appointment was at 10:30 AM, I think I finished at 10:35 AM,” said McAllister. “The line never stopped moving, it’s very fast and easy … no issues at all.”
This event is another step in the fight against COVID-19 locally.
“Our hospital partners, vaccinators across the region, in the city are still doing their normal business,” Mooney said. “This is over the top, right, so it adds a lot more capacity for our community to be protected from the virus, which is ultimately the solution.”
As part of that, Missouri State University lent a helping hand.
“We are a public university,” said David Hall, MSU director for university security. “That’s part of our mission is to serve the public and this, I think, is one of those clear ways that we can show that we are part of the community, that we are here as a resource to be able to help . “
Springfield health leaders say the event will help Greene County move closer to its goal of fully vaccinating 25% of the population by April 16.
“They can get so many people through this in one day. I like this one because it is the one-time dose, ”said McAllister. “So I don’t have to worry about coming back and getting another dose.”
“It’s been really rewarding for us to be able to help,” said Hall.
The last count for the two-day event was a total of 6,131 vaccinated people. The 4,385 vaccinated on Friday makes it the largest single-dose vaccination event in Missouri to date.
Jon Mooney of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department said leaders have a contingency plan to get the leftover doses into their arms early next week.
According to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, the remaining supply of the one-time Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the mega-event will be used in the health department’s outreach efforts and distributed to other local health partners for use in vaccination clinics.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department and Missouri State University partnered with the following organizations to host the two-day event.
- City of Springfield
- City utilities
- Drury University
- Evangel University
- Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management
- Ozarks Technical Community College
- Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services
- Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team
- Missouri National Guard
- Springfield Public Schools
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