Missouri officials expect fewer coronavirus vaccine doses than originally anticipated

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri officials are expecting to receive significantly fewer vaccine doses than anticipated next week after eligibility opens up to all adults in the state.

The state anticipates getting roughly 157,040 doses in total next week — a decline of about 351,460 doses from last week's projection for the same time period.

Missouri vaccine providers were told on a call Tuesday that the state will receive 160,760 fewer Pfizer doses, 112,800 fewer Moderna and 77,900 fewer Johnson & Johnson shots.

A spokeswoman for Governor Mike Parson, Kelli Jones said, "My understanding is that they are considering next week a "big decrease" applying old projections that included both first and second doses up against the first dose/J&J only allocation totals next week.  

Jones said, state vaccinators will receive 318,350 combined first, second, and J&J doses next week, which is comparable to the 250-300,000 weekly total doses vaccinators have been administering.

Adam Crumbliss, the Department of Health and Senior Services' director of community and public health, said several factors have influenced this drop.

For example, Johnson and Johnson had 15 million doses go to waste because of quality control issues in manufacturing, which Crumbliss said will affect the supply for a few weeks.

Phase 3 of the state's vaccination plan will open Friday, including all Missouri adults and extending vaccine eligibility to an estimated 1.1 million Missourians.

“With the progress we are currently seeing and vaccine supply expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks, we are well ahead of schedule with our vaccine plan," Gov. Mike Parson said recently.

Phase 2, which includes construction sectors, higher education and vulnerable populations including disproportionately affected racial groups and people experiencing homelessness, opened March 29.

With the activation, about 2.57 million residents were eligible but have not yet received a first dose, according to an April 5 analysis of the state's vaccine distribution by Deloitte Consulting. Meanwhile, nearly 34% of eligible residents had been vaccinated.

Parson said previously he expects any Missourian who wants a vaccine will be able to walk into a local provider and get one by the end of the month.