JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson toured the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Mercy Hospital-Jefferson in Jefferson County Tuesday.
Karen Wideman is among the people who received the vaccine.
“It went great,” she said. “I'm so glad. I was just happy to get my second one. It makes me feel relieved now.”
“I’ll be real glad to see things get back to normal," Karen’s husband, Clarence, said. "It's been kind of a hassle with everybody I know.”
Jefferson County was behind the curve for a couple of months — even delaying when it moved into the next tier of vaccinations. But now, at the end of March, more people are getting the shot.
“I really got a chance to talk to some people in there who are getting vaccinated," Parson said. "There’s just a positive attitude everybody has right now, and I think it's long overdue with the vaccine becoming more and more available.”
According to Missouri's vaccine dashboard, 16.9% of people in Jefferson County have received at least one dose and 9.2% are fully vaccinated. According to the dashboard, 25.3% of people statewide have at least one dose of the vaccine and 14.7% are fully vaccinated.
Last week, Jefferson County allowed its mask mandate to expire after extending it a couple of times. The federal government and the Biden administration say people should continue to wear masks. Governor Parson has stated he believes the issue should be a local decision.
“I do believe the balanced approach worked for this state, and I believe we continue to do that when it comes to masks and businesses," Parson said. "The vast majority of our businesses were never shut down, statewide. And right now, our economy is better than most other people. We're in the top ten for recovery.”
Meanwhile, it's not just Jefferson County where there is progress. FEMA is opening a mass vaccination clinic in St. Louis for eight weeks, starting April 7, and will vaccinate as many as 168,000 people.
Governor Parson says that will be a game-changer.
“We hope in April if vaccine supplies go according to what we believe is coming out on the federal side,” said Parson. “that we will be able to get up there at a state level around 200,000 or 300,000 doses a week. We would move the needle by the end of April.”