Teachers, First Responders Bumped Up Vaccine Priority List In St. Louis

CBS St. Louis

January 11, 2021

Certain groups of workers the St. Louis region are getting bumped up in the vaccination order.
Monday, Dr. Alex Garza with the St. Louis Pandemic Task Force announced teachers and all first responders in Missouri are moving from Phase 1B up to Phase 1A. If everything goes according to plan, Garza said Phase 1B should start one month from now. "The 1B population is pretty big. That's the essential workers and people over the age of 75, so the definition of essential worker is pretty broad. We think a sizable piece of the public will actually fit into that 1B category," Dr. Garza said. "The challenge is always that you never know the total amount in that group. Are we talking about 1,000 people are we talking about 100,000 people?" Garza expects everyone in the 1A category (healthcare workers, long-term care facilities, first responders and teachers) to have at least the first shot of the vaccine by the middle of next month. In the name of expediency, Dr. Garza said the task force is working on plans to vaccinate people eventually at primary care offices, pharmacies and specific points of distribution, also known as "pods." Right now, numbers show only about two percent of people in the region area have received the vaccine in the last month. Garza admits there have been some challenges nailing down a firm delivery schedule from the state, which plays a role in how much vaccine St. Louis is getting and when. As we move toward a time when the general public is eligible for the vaccine, Garza said he's hoping an information clearing house can be established so people will know when it's their turn to get a dose. "We would like to have a simplified method like a one-stop-shop that people can go to to get information about the vaccine, but also then register for the vaccine," He said. "Of course not everyone is going to be at the top of the line, there's going to be a tiering process, but if we can collect the information from people and get everybody to the que, we have a better idea of who needs to get vaccinated. At that time then we can start dividing up the work." Dr. Garza said the task force is working on plans to set up that portal now. St. Louis County and St. Charles County already set up portals. For the St. Louis County portal and information, click here.