The first doses of coronavirus vaccines are almost ready to roll out across the nation and in Missouri.
Missouri Health Director Randall Williams says the state expects to get almost 340,000 doses of vaccines to fight COVID-19 this month. Leaders at the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services say they are preparing for this next step in the fight against the virus.
Columbia/Boone County Health Director Stephanie Browning says she understands that after months of pandemic, we’re all tired. She says the community has persevered, made sacrifices, and now hope is on the way.
“We've made a lot of hard sacrifices and the holidays are going to be tough for families because we know a lot of people like my own will not be getting together for Christmas and we didn't for Thanksgiving, but there is hope ahead,” Browning said.
The hope is coming in the form of long-awaited vaccines. Officials at Columbia/Boone County Health and Human Services say the county will follow the same approach set by the Centers for Disease Control and Missouri state officials. That means that only a small priority population will receive the vaccine this month.
“The first priority group is Phase One-A, which are basically people who are working in hospitals, working with COVID positive patients,” Trina Teacutter, the department’s nursing supervisor, said. “So those frontline health care workers that are caring for patients as well as those in long-term care facilities caring for patients in long-term care facilities as well as residents of long-term care facilities.”
So why is it that only a select group will have access to the vaccine this early on?
Michelle Shikles, who oversees the department’s public health promotion, said the reason why only a select group will receive the vaccine this month is very simple.
“We simply don't have enough right now to go and vaccinate everyone, to open it up to everyone. So, we have to prioritize and that will allow production to continue while we're getting those high-risk individuals first,” Shikles said.
And even as vaccines await emergency use authorization by the federal government, the first doses have already been shipped to multiple location throughout Missouri.
“The intention is that those are you know there even before the emergency use authorization is signed. So, once it is there's not a time lapse between it being signed in and it is getting moved. So, once that is signed up a federal level then the Pfizer vaccine will be able to start being administered but it will be to a very limited priority population,” Rebecca Estes, Senior planner at Columbia/Boone County Health, said.
The county is also planning a public outreach campaign. Shikles says they are aware that there is plenty of misinformation about vaccines out there, and that is part of why they want to send a clear and consistent message.
“So, we are working on creating a campaign to really educate the community about the safety of the vaccine to break through all those myths so that it's so they know that this is a safe effective tool that will ultimately help us resume that normal life that we're all craving so much,” Shikles said.
The public outreach campaign will begin early next year, and it will also let Boone County residents know when and where they can get the vaccine. But Director Stephanie Browning says it’s important people understand that now is not the time to think that this pandemic is over just because of the good news on the vaccine front.
“So, we don't want to lose all the gains that we've made to this day. We want everybody to be able to be together at this time next year celebrating and our economy to be on the rise. So, we need people hang in there little longer,” Browning said.