SPRINGFIELD, Mom (KY3) – Missouri has officially entered a new phase in its COVID-19 vaccination plan.
Monday begins Phase 1B, Tier 2, which focuses on helping pregnant people or adults over 65 who are at risk for serious coronavirus-related illnesses. People with intellectual or developmental disabilities are also eligible.
If you are not in the categories, you may have to wait a while.
“We are limited by the amount of vaccine we get,” said Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said. “We have no control over it, and what we do have is make sure it is distributed as soon as we get it.”
On Sunday, about 200,000 vaccines were administered across the country. This is far from the number of people who are now eligible to receive it.
“As you can imagine, the universe consists of 1B, Tier 1 and 2 and 1A, almost 3 million people,” said dr. Williams said. “It’s half the state of Missouri.”
But the supply of incoming vaccines is slow, which according to Dr Williams is not unexpected.
“It would not surprise me at all if we only get 70,000 vaccines a week, or I think now 74,000-80,000,” said dr. Williams said.
This means that most will have to wait to receive it even after signing up.
“We will need people to be patient as we work through the universe of three million people,” he said.
But although it has been a slow process so far, dr. Williams hopeful for the future.
“If we look around the state and see the morbidity and mortality that the virus has caused, we are very grateful that we have an instrument that is now going to bring us to a much better place in Missouri, and fairly quickly, I think. by May or June. ”
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