Vaccinators encourage the public to take any vaccine that is available as thousands become eligible Monday
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Health care experts are advising eligible people to not turn down any coronavirus vaccine if it becomes available, while vaccine supply still continues to be an issue.
"Take what's available to you when it's your turn to sign up because you don't know when that's going to come again," said Dr. Robin Blount, chief medical officer of Boone Hospital Center.
There has been some changes made to the vaccination information page for events across Missouri.
The state has added information so residents can know which coronavirus vaccine will be available at the majority of the sites that are connected to the Missouri National Guard.
"Some people do have a preference, but the reality is that all three vaccines are highly effective," said Blount.
The addition of this information comes to the state's vaccine event page as about 550,000 more Missourians will become eligible under Phase 1B Tier 3.
In previous weeks, the information provided for the vaccine events on the state's page included the time and place of the clinic, but not the version of the vaccine people would receive.
Blount said the supply has been increasing rapidly over the past few weeks. She said the state is ready for tier 3 to become eligible to get these vital parts of the work industry vaccinated.
The state's distribution plan will now distribute vaccine doses based off the amount of people eligible in a region rather than the entire population in the region.
Blount said because of the many industries in mid-Missouri that include people in tier 3, the area should expect a good amount of the state's vaccine supply.
She said the distributors do not know what vaccine they will receive.
"Boone Hospital doesn't know. The state doesn't know. It would be a mistake to be picky," said Blount.
According to the state's vaccine dashboard as of Sunday, 1,777,068 doses of the vaccine have been given out in Missouri. A total of 631,832 people have been fully vaccinated across the state making up 10.3% of the population.
The Johnson and Johnson doses have helped increase the amount of people vaccinated because it is only a single shot dose. Blount said many people have shown interest in the single shot option.
The state received 50,000 of the Johnson and Johnson doses after the initial shipment, but according to Blount the state does not expect to receive consistent weekly shipment until April.
Blount said she has still continued to see people who were eligible in the initial vaccination phases getting registered to receive their doses months later.
"When they open up to phase 2, that's millions more people. By passing up your chance you don't know when your next chance will be," said Blount.
A map of vaccine providers throughout the state is provided.
