Coronavirus shots available at pharmacies as Missouri expands eligibility
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Pharmacy chains participating in a federal coronavirus vaccine program have available appointments to start the first full week of full eligibility in Missouri.
While many Missourians had difficulty getting vaccine appointments just a few weeks ago, appointments appeared to be widely available Monday.
The state entered Phase 3 of its coronavirus vaccination plan Friday, which opens up vaccines to everyone old enough to get the shot.
Hy-Vee is one of the pharmacies offering vaccine through a federal program. The company said last week that it has vaccine appointments available at all its pharmacy locations. The appointments start at 11:15 a.m. daily and continue every half house until 4:30 p.m. The store has locations in Columbia, Jefferson City and at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Map of approved Missouri vaccinators
State officials said last week that Missouri will get 84,240 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine; 62,000 doses of Moderna and 10,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for people 16 years old and older, while the other vaccines are authorized for people 18 and older.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reports about 31.4% of Missourians have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine. Boone County leads the state with about 38.2% of its residents receiving at least one dose.
The rising vaccination rate in Boone County coincides with a relatively low rate of new cases. Hospitalizations have trended down, as well, with just four Boone County residents hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday.
Brad Myers, the MU Health Care Executive Director says the recent influx of vaccine openings is because Boone County is receiving a lot of vaccine doses.
"About a month or two ago the vaccine was somewhat limited in terms of the availability throughout our region, however now, with the increased allotment to Missouri as part of the federal program to increase supply to some of the retail pharmacies, theres tremendous amounts of availability at this point," Myers said.
While remaining far below the peaks of the fall and winter, cases in Boone County are on a slight rise, however. The five-day average of new daily cases jumped to 20 last week after finished March at five cases per day.
