Community Corner
St. Louis Region To Receive Increase Of Vaccine Supply Following Outcry
The St. Louis region will receive additional COVID-19 vaccines next week, Missouri officials announced Wednesday.
February 11, 2021
The St. Louis region will receive additional COVID-19 vaccines next week, Missouri officials announced Wednesday.
Find out what's happening in St. Louisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
St. Louis area COVID-19 hospitalizations drop below 400 for first time since October
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 at St. Louis area hospitals went below 400 for the first time since late October.
Earlier this week, local leaders said the area was being given only around 17% of the state’s vaccine allocation while the region makes up 37% of Missouri’s population. For the upcoming week, the region is slated to receive 34% vaccine allocation from the state.
Find out what's happening in St. Louisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Missouri officials say vaccine rollout will expand soon
Despite complaints about Missouri's vaccination efforts, state health officials offered an optimistic outlook Wednesday, saying significantly more vaccines are expected soon and more sites will be distributing the doses. Region C is comprised of St. Louis, St. Charles, Pike, Perry, Lincoln, Warren, Washington, Jefferson, Ste. Genevieve and St. Francois counties as well as the City of St. Louis. On Wednesday, state health officials said 9.2% of the state’s population has received at least one vaccine dose, with 2.9% receiving two doses. A total of 741,108 vaccine doses have been administered, according to the health department’s dashboard. The positive focus came on the same day that Gov. Mike Parson urged Missouri mayors to help spread a more positive outlook because he said he was getting “pounded” by daily criticism in the media over the state's vaccine response. Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, said during a virtual media conference the state expects to receive a “fairly significant” amount of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one shot, next month. Johnson & Johnson has asked for emergency approval of its vaccine. Williams said Gen. Gustave Perna, head of the national Operation Warp Speed vaccination program, told him Wednesday the authorization is expected this month, and Missouri should receive an “ample” supply in March. Moderna and Pfizer also plan to increase the supply of their two-shot vaccines to about 200,000 million by June, he said.
