JEFFERSON CITY — During today’s press briefing at the State Capitol, Governor Mike Parson announced that Phase 1B – Tier 3 of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Plan will be activated on Monday, March 15, 2021.

“Missouri has had a vaccine plan since October, and this has not changed. We have been very disciplined in following our plan,” Governor Parson said. “With vaccine supply steadily increasing, we believe we are in a good position to activate Phase 1B – Tier 3, which will make approximately 550,000 more Missourians eligible to receive a vaccine.”

Beginning March 15, Missourians in Phase 1B – Tier 3 will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This includes those who keep the essential functions of society running, including K-12 educators and school employees; child care providers; grocery store employees; and energy, food, agriculture, and other critical infrastructure workers, among others.

With the activation of Phase 1B – Tier 3, approximately 550,000 more Missourians will be eligible for the vaccine. For the full list of categories included in Phase 1B – Tier 3, click here. Missourians in Phase 1A and Phase 1B – Tier 1 and Tier 2 will also remain eligible.

Currently, the state estimates that there are approximately 800,000 Missourians who are eligible and interested in getting vaccinated. By March 15, the state expects this number to decrease to approximately 400,000.

Activating Phase 1B – Tier 3 on March 15 will help ensure that there is a steady population of people who are eligible and interested in receiving a vaccine. This will allow vaccinators across the state to continue vaccinating Missourians without delays due to those who are eligible but not seeking a vaccine.

“While supply is still limited, we are expecting slow and steady increases, and activating Tier 3 on March 15 will allow us to continue making progress as supply expands,” Governor Parson said. “If vaccine supply continues to increase, and if we continue to make the progress we’ve been seeing, we believe that we will be ready to activate Phase 2 within 45 days of March 15.”

“For now, we ask that vaccinators work in their communities to plan for March 15. We want this to be a smooth process, and it will be up to vaccinators to start planning now so that Tier 3 populations are ready,” Governor Parson continued.

Also during today’s briefing, Governor Parson provided an update on COVID-19 data and vaccine progress. As of February 24, approximately 12 percent of Missouri’s population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Over 350,000 Missourians have been fully vaccinated with both doses.

This week, Missouri was allotted more than 120,000 initial doses of the Modena and Pfizer vaccine for distribution across the state. Next week, Missouri has been allotted more than 128,500 initial doses. This allotment could increase if the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is expected to happen by the end of this week.

Once the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is granted an EUA, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) will consider the recommendations from the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). After DHSS reviews that data and confirms the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, the appropriate standing order will be issued to ensure the vaccine can be immediately administered once shipments arrive in Missouri.

Additionally, more than 233,600 vaccine doses have been shipped to CVS and Walgreens through the Federal Pharmacy Partnership, and 38,990 doses have been shipped to Walmart, Healthmart, and Hy-Vee locations through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.

The Federal Pharmacy Partnership with CVS and Walgreens will continue through April. More than 87,000 residents and 50,900 staff at long-term care facilities have accepted vaccinations through clinics held by CVS and Walgreens.

The federal government also recently announced a new Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program. The federal government will directly ship additional vaccines doses to partnering Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC).

FQHCs provide services to underserved and vulnerable communities, with two-thirds of their patients at or below the federal poverty line and 60 percent being racial and ethnic minorities. These doses from the federal government are in addition to the eight percent of the state’s vaccine allocation already being distributed to FQHCs in Missouri.

The state also continues to move forward with regional mass vaccination events. There have been 68 mass vaccination clinics completed across the state, and more than 66,500 Missourians have received an initial vaccine dose at one of these events.

Targeted teams in St. Louis and Kansas City have completed 24 vaccine clinics with more planned in the coming days and weeks. These teams serve vulnerable populations in communities with limited access to health care.

Missouri’s seven-day PCR positivity rate has fallen to 6.1 percent, and the antigen (rapid) test rate has fallen to 5.2 percent. According to CDC data, Missouri now ranks second lowest in the nation for average daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 7 days.

“We have never wavered in our balanced approach to addressing this pandemic, and the data shows that we are winning the fight,” Governor Parson said. “We are excited about the direction we’re heading, and we will continue to take a balanced approach, fight COVID-19, and give every Missourian who wants a vaccine the opportunity to get one.”

Missourians are encouraged to visit MOStopsCOVID.com to view the latest vaccine updates, find out when they are eligible for the vaccine, and locate available vaccinators in their area.

Beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, February 19th, 2021 we will be accepting appointments for all upcoming COVID-19 Vaccine clinics online here or by calling 573-324-2111. This upcoming clinic will be held on Wednesday, February 24th, 2021. This will close once all appointments have been booked and re-open when a new clinic has been scheduled. Be the first to know of these clinic/vaccine updates by signing up for our PCHD E-News. No internet or e-mail? No problem, call our office and ask how we can help.

• DO NOT BOOK AN APPOINTMENT if you are not currently in one of the current phases of the Missouri Distribution Phases: PHASE 1A, PHASE 1B – TIER 1, PHASE 1B – TIER 2.
• These are for FIRST DOSES only.
• UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, THESE CLINICS WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE, 807 S. COURT ST., BOWLING GREEN, MO 63334.

GET READY TO BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT HERE >>>>

————————————–

PIKE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT STILL AWAITS COVID-19 VACCINE SHIPMENTS

The Pike County Health Department is one of many local county health departments as well as other Covid-19 vaccinator providers that are awaiting an initial covid-19 vaccine shipment.  The Mo DHSS is allotted a certain number of doses from the federal government weekly and decides where those shipments will be sent.   Initially the state designated 55% of volume to the health care delivery system choosing 10 larger sites/hospitals to initiate the Phase 1A group which consisted of Health Care front line workers.  The Mo. DHSS also entered into a Federal Pharmacy Partnership designating 45% of the vaccine to vaccinate all Long term care facilities immunizing our most vulnerable population of residents and their staff.

Rhonda Stumbaugh, Administrator would like to assure county residents that we have taken the proper steps to become a vaccine provider and are ready when the time comes to provide this service to our community. “Our county health department continues to monitor the county’s current situation through surveillance, case investigations, contact tracing, as well as educating and giving recommendations based on the current status.  Now with the vaccine becoming available one of our #1 priorities during this pandemic is to be a resource for our residents, and provide immunizations to those that want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.” Stumbaugh says.  “This is the next step that we can take to help fight this pandemic and ensure the health and safety of our community”.

While our agency continues to await the arrival of the vaccine we are working hard to plan and strategize how to organize and safely implement the vaccination clinics once they are received. Our COVID-19 team is working together at meetings to discuss and play out how we can efficiently and safely deliver the vaccine to those who request it.

As our agency will be required to follow the State of Missouri distribution phases we are unsure what phase/tier the state will be in at the time we receive the vaccine. Our current plan is to take appointments for those who are eligible during the particular phase/tier at that time. We will offer appointments online and for those with no internet access can call in for one. Once our agency has an ETA of the vaccine we will work quickly to set a date for the first COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic. As of right now, we anticipate receiving the vaccine by late February and we are unsure how much vaccine we will receive.

Where is Pike County Health Department currently in the vaccine distribution process?

1. Apply to be a COVID-19 Distributor and await for approval. < COMPLETE >
2. Receive approval and await shipment notification and ETA of vaccine arrival. < COMPLETE >
3. Plan and strategize the logistics of mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic(s). <WE ARE HERE>
4. Receive notification that vaccines are shipped with ETA date.
5. Set dates and locations for COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics.
6. Push through all media outlets the dates, locations and eligibility information for the upcoming clinics.
7. Appointments will be made available online and by phone for eligible Missouri residents.
8. Proceed to distribute as many vaccines to the eligible population as possible.
9. Request more COVID-19 vaccines and start from #3 again.

What to expect when PCHD opens appointments for the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics:

• Get ready by educating yourself on the Missouri COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Phases to ensure where you stand as well as learning about the COVID-19 Vaccines that are available.
• When scheduling your appointment you will be required to verify that you are eligible to receive the vaccine under the current distribution phases. You will pick your appointment date and time and fill out the necessary online form. You will receive email notification of your appointment. Appointments must be made at least one day prior.
• We ask that you arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. If you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment we can not guarantee that we will be able to get you in for your vaccination that day and you may be required to make a new appointment.
• Don’t forget to bring your drivers license or valid ID along with your Medicaid, Medicare or Private Insurance Card. (The vaccine is FREE and the administration fee will be covered for everyone regardless of insurance coverage. We also recommend wearing a mask and clothing that allows easy access of the arm.)
• Upon arrival you will receive a handout with information including the EUA/Fact Sheet for the Vaccine, Notice of Privacy Practices, information regarding your second dose as well as information on V-Safe the after vaccination health tracker app.
• Consent and Insurance forms will be given to you to fill out prior to getting your shot.
• Time for your vaccine! You will then be called upon by a nurse to receive your vaccine.
• Once you have received your vaccine you will be directed to wait in a designated recovery area for 15-30 minutes.
• While you wait to depart you will be assisted with scheduling your *second dose appointment as well as setting up the V-Safe app (fi applicable). Additionally your COVID-19 Vaccine will be input into the ShowMeVax system.

*IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR SECOND DOSE: We will schedule your second dose appointment before you leave unless otherwise directed. While the State of Missouri is still experiencing an exceptionally limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines, we have been instructed to use all available inventory for first doses. The state is working on securing second doses and we are completely dependent on their distribution of the vaccine to our agency in order to administer your second dose. Should the state’s inability to deliver enough doses cause a temporary delay before your scheduled second dose appointment we will inform you prior to your appointment. Per CDC: The second dose of COVID-19 vaccines may be scheduled for administration up to 6 weeks (42 days) after the first dose. Both doses of the series should be completed with the same product.

Don’t want to wait for us to get the COVID-19 Vaccine?

If we are notified of a local COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic that is scheduled we will do our best to notify the public once the information has been verified. If you feel that you would prefer to try and receive the vaccine sooner from another distributor, you can view the Vaccine Locator Map and find a location to receive your vaccine.
PLEASE NOTE: The State of Missouri is still experiencing an exceptionally limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines. Before contacting a vaccinator on this map to coordinate your vaccination, please understand that many vaccinators are still awaiting supplies from the federal government.