Governor, Missouri health director warn against jumping in coronavirus vaccine line

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri's top health official said Thursday that he reprimanded a health care provider for giving coronavirus vaccine shots to people who were not eligible to get them under the state's vaccination plan.

Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, declined to give the provider's name during Gov. Mike Parson's weekly coronavirus briefing. Williams said he had a call with the organization's CEO, who admitted to vaccinating people not in approved groups.

"We are going to prioritize our most vulnerable, and as the governor said, any deviation from that will be met with consequences," Williams said.

Williams did not mention what the consequences would be at this time.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below.

The governor said Missouri has continued to make progress with the COVID-19 positivity rate and hospitalization rate.

As of Monday the state's COVID-19 dashboard reported 1,675 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and 23% ICU bed capacity.

In November ICU capacity dropped below 20% in Missouri, hitting 19% during the fall.

"This is extremely encouraging news and I want to thank Missourians for their efforts," Parson said.

Missouri, like other states around the country, has seen a sluggish rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. State officials say supply has limited the number of people who have been vaccinated.

The state is now in Tier 2 of Phase 1B of the vaccine program, which includes people with certain underlying health conditions and people 65 and older. However, many people in those groups have not been able to get shots. Mass vaccination clinics for those groups in Mid-Missouri began just last week.

State health officials and the Missouri National Guard continue to conduct mass vaccination clinics around the state. The next one in Mid-Missouri is set for Friday at The Linc in Jefferson City. However, all slots for that event are full.

Nearly 585,000 shots have been administered statewide, according to the health department's online COVID-19 dashboard. Parson touted the number Thursday as an accomplishment.

"Vaccine supply continues to be the limiting factor but we are committed to fairly allocating doses throughout the state and working with vaccinators to distribute vaccine as quickly as possible," Parson said.

Parson said nearly 20,000 people received shots last week during mass vaccination events around the state.

The governor also issued his own warning about vaccinators who deviate from the state's guidelines of who should get the shot.

"We have to be disciplined because right now, with the supply that we have, we have to give to most vulnerable people ... and the people at the highest risk," Parson said.

Parson said the federal government is increasing the state's allocation of the Moderna vaccine by 5% each week, which will help boost available supply. The state now has more advanced notice about how big weekly vaccine shipments will be, which allowed the state to increase doses being sent to certain large medical providers. University of Missouri Health Care started a mass vaccination clinic Thursday based on that increased supply.

Parson said the process of increasing vaccine supply is gradual and similar to supply issues early in the pandemic with protective gear and testing.

The number of vaccinations administered in Missouri will increase next week when the Walmart and Health Mart pharmacies begin vaccinating underserved areas, Williams said. That program, which is being run by the federal government, is expected to begin next Thursday.

Williams said the pace of vaccinations is likely to pick up with two more vaccines expected to hit the market soon from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. He hopes the state could move to the next tier of the vaccination plan sometime in April. Right now it appears the general public could be fully vaccinated by June or July, he said.

The number of Missourians hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to plummet. Hospitalizations were at 1,680 on Sunday, which is more than 1,000 below the peaks seen in November and December.