Health official: COVID-19 vaccine arrives next week

Missouri's top health official said Friday he expects the state's first COVID-19 vaccinations to occur next week.

Randall Williams, director of the state Department of Health and Senior Services, told media members 20 pre-selected institutions will receive 51,000 doses of a Pfizer-created virus vaccine within days.

"I anticipate that we will probably be vaccinating people in Missouri next Thursday. I know one site I was on the phone with last night, and that is their plan," he said, adding the process to develop vaccines to fight the coronavirus has been "remarkable."

He compared the rapid vaccine development to putting a man on the moon.

Williams said vaccine doses will be available within 96 hours of federal government approval through contractual agreements with UPS, FedEx, CVS and Walgreens. The private businesses are working a two-track system.

UPS and FedEx will deliver the vaccine doses to the pre-selected institutions. The doses will come encased in a special box filled with dry ice. The boxes come equipped with temperature sensors to ensure the doses remain at the appropriate temperature. These doses will go to health care workers, essential workers and other high-risk populations. Another batch of Pfizer vaccine doses, 61,000, is to arrive shortly after the first batch, and 30,000 more doses will be available by the end of the month. Williams said he expects most health care workers to be able to receive the vaccine by the end of January.

The Pfizer vaccine, which requires two doses spaced several weeks apart, isn't given at the extremely cold storage temperature. It is given at refrigerated or room temperature. Strict protocols guide the timeframe in which personnel must use the vaccine doses.

CVS and Walgreens have contracted with the government to provide the vaccine doses to those in long-term care facilities. Williams said the companies identified thousands of vaccinators who will fan out to the facilities across the state. The first 105,000 of these vaccine doses -- Moderna's version of the vaccine -- will arrive the week of Dec. 20, and the state is to receive another 70,000 doses the following week.

"In one action, we will be able to vaccinate almost two-thirds of our long-term care facility population. We will get started in late December and do it very quickly," Williams said.

Williams said these initial doses should cover more than 85% of the state's long-term care facilities. He cited statistics showing these facilities account for 4% of the state's COVID-19 cases but 43% of mortality.

"To be able to minimize the morbidity and mortality would be tremendous for our hospitals, as the average state can be 10 days to three weeks," he noted.

The Moderna vaccine does not require the minus-94-degree storage the Pfizer vaccine does, and it is a one-dose vaccine.

Williams said the federal government is distributing the vaccines based on population, and Missouri is set to receive 2 million doses by the end of February. In total, the state should receive 320,000 vaccine doses before the end of the year.

Two other vaccine candidates, from Astro-Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson, should be available in February.

Federal protocols require all delivered vaccine doses be used within 10 days, preventing waste or hoarding.

Will he get the vaccine?

"Absolutely," Williams said, explaining that high-ranking state officials will not be among the first to receive the vaccine because they want to save all doses for health care workers and those in long-term care facilities. He said he expects to receive his vaccine dose in early January -- "but I would get it tomorrow if I didn't rather a nurse in Columbia (Missouri) get it before me."

Questions

Williams addressed a number of questions regarding the vaccinations

• Will there be a list of who could receive the vaccine does first? No. Those in the high-priority groups who wish to get the vaccine dose should contact the provider nearest them.
• What about those who have shown allergic reactions to vaccines before? Williams said such persons should let their health care provider know about previous reactions.
• Will state officials mandate Missourians get the vaccine? No.
• Once a person has been vaccinated, does that person still need to wear a mask and take other precautions against infection? Yes, Williams said even though vaccinated "still need to do the exact same things -- use hand sanitizer, socially distance, wear a mask and don't congregate in large groups." He speculated increasing vaccinations could allow authorities to relax the guidelines next summer.