Parson: Vaccine brings hope but the ‘fight is not over’

The rollout of the coronavirus is gaining momentum as Missouri’s coronavirus cases and hospitalizations begin to stabilize and extra health care workers arrive to provide relief, Gov. Mike Parson said Wednesday. But Parson stressed that, with case volumes still high, “this fight is not over.”

“Missouri has now received shipments of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, and we have been successfully administering vaccines for more than two weeks,” Governor Parson. “We are very pleased with how well the process has gone so far. We are continuing to work through Phase 1A of our vaccine plan, and additional details on Phase 1B will be forthcoming.”

So far the state has received 314,000 vaccine doses, with 66,000 administered as of Tuesday. The first doses were given to health care workers; vaccinations of long-term care residents and staff didn’t start until Monday when Walgreens and CVS Health began administering them.

Governor Parson continues to remind Missourians of the importance of social distancing, wearing a mask, minimizing travel, and avoiding large gatherings. Missourians are also strongly encouraged to visit the state’s vaccine website MOStopsCOVID.com for daily updates and answers to common questions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report