ST. LOUIS — The City of St. Louis is expecting to get its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines Tuesday, Mayor Lyda Krewson announced Monday.
The mayor said the first batch will include 3,900 doses. First responders in the city will be prioritized, along with those who are 65 and older and adults with underlying health conditions. This falls in line with the State of Missouri's Phase 1A, Phase 1B-Tier 1 and Phase 1B-Tier 2 vaccine rollout plans.
“We will be rolling out at the end of this week to our first responders and those folks who are in the approved groups at this point in time,” Mayor Krewson said.
Despite the St. Louis health department not getting vaccines yet, city leaders were able to get the first shot to 441 first responders last week through a partnership with BJC. About another 300 vaccines were distributed to seniors on Saturday.
“We are beginning to make some progress, and I think we’ll make more progress as the days go on,” Krewson said.
The mayor said the city is planning on doing more events that are open to the public in the coming weeks and months, but it all comes down to vaccine availability.
“We have to have the vaccine supply and we need a way for people to get appointments for that,” she said. “We don't want to have these long lines, but we will do big events. But we will also continue to do a number of small events provided we can keep the supply going.”
The City of St. Louis Department of Health has been eagerly waiting for the first shipment of vaccines to arrive, while other departments in the area already have received one or two batches. A City of St. Louis Department of Health employee told 5 On Your Side last week in an email the agency "is not alone in standing by for vaccine distribution. For weeks, the State of Missouri prioritized vaccine supplies to the hospital systems in the City of St. Louis."
City residents can sign up to get vaccine and vaccination notifications through a link on the health department's website. Those who sign up will be updated on the status of vaccine availability and the phased distribution of the vaccine. Be prepared to submit your name, birth date and other basic information.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiled by The New York Times, Missouri is behind every state in the rate of distribution for the first dose, and only U.S. territories in the Virgin Islands, Micronesia and Guam have a lower percentage of the population with the first dose.
Just 4% of Missourians have received the first shot of the two-dose coronavirus vaccine as of Sunday.