Missouri’s first COVID-19 vaccination expected on Thursday. Thousands will soon follow
The first COVID-19 vaccination in Missouri is expected to take place on Thursday, according to a top state health official, the start of a sprint to inoculate healthcare workers and a marathon to protect the entire population.
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services director Randall Williams projected the date based on commitments from federal officials to quickly move doses once the Food and Drug Administration authorizes emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine, which could occur this weekend.
“I know one site, and I was on the phone with them last night, and that is their plan,” Williams told reporters during a Friday afternoon conference call.
In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration expects doses to arrive by the end of next week.
Williams didn’t identify where the first vaccination is expected to take place. But Missouri’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan calls for healthcare workers interacting with virus patients to be the very first to receive shots, so it is likely the first shot will be administered at a hospital.
The very first injections will mark the start of what will be a logistically complex campaign to vaccinate millions of Missouri residents that could last well into 2021. The state expects to receive up to 2 million initial doses by the end of February, Williams said.
That’s enough to begin vaccinating groups at higher risk, such as teachers, first responders and other essential workers. It’s still less than a third of Missouri’s population, however.
Most immediately, Missouri is still on track to receive roughly 339,000 doses by the end of December. Within weeks, health officials plan to begin vaccinating residents and staff of long-term care facilities, a group that includes about 128,000 people.
Williams said that once the FDA approves Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use, federal authorities are expected to start shipping doses within 24 hours. He estimated it will take about three days after that before injections can begin, placing Missouri’s first vaccination on Thursday if the FDA acts on Sunday.
“That’s the plan, but that’s going to be conditional on all those things happening,” Williams said.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 1:57 PM.
