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Missouri Could Be 4-6 Weeks Away From COVID Vaccine Demand-Supply Shift

St. Louis Public Radio | By Jonathan Ahl
Published April 1, 2021 at 4:51 PM CDT
Governor Mike Parson (left) and Phelps Health CEO Ed Clayton (center) spoke with health care staff and patients at a COVID vaccine event in Rolla.
Phelps Health
Governor Mike Parson (left) and Phelps Health CEO Ed Clayton (center) spoke with health care staff and patients at a COVID vaccine event in Rolla.

ROLLA — Gov. Mike Parson said Thursday the state is starting to turn the corner on COVID-19 vaccinations.

“The first vaccine shipment that came into this state was 52,000 doses,” Parson said at Rolla Church of Christ, where Phelps Health was holding its latest mass vaccination event. “By the end of April, probably our numbers will pick up to 250,000 to 300,000 a week, not counting the FEMA event in St. Louis.”

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reports that 26% of Missourians have received at least their first dose of the vaccine, and 16% are fully vaccinated. Both of those put Missouri in the bottom 10 in the nation.

But Parson is optimistic.

“A lot of good things are happening in the state, and by the end of April I think we’re really going to see the needle change in this state as far as the volume of people that’s vaccinated,” Parson said.

Experts have long predicted there will be a tipping point when the supply will outpace demand, and that could come soon in Missouri, said Ed Clayton, CEO of Phelps Health.

“We think that is going to happen, off of just the percentages that we are seeing, probably between the first and 15th of May,” Clayton said. “We’ll see that we’re having a hard time utilizing those 1,000 doses we’re getting a week.”

Phelps Health has had an education and outreach component to its vaccination efforts since the beginning but will ramp that up in coming weeks to try to persuade people who are hesitant to get the vaccine.

Phelps Health has administered more than 20,000 CVOID-19 vaccine doses so far this year.

Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @JonathanAhl

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio
Jonathan Ahl
Jonathan is the General Manager of Tri States Public radio. His duties include but are not limited to, managing all facets of the station, from programming to finances to operations. Jonathan grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago. He has a B.A in music theory and composition from WIU and a M.A in Public Affairs Reporting from The University of Illinois at Springfield. Jonathan began his journey in radio as a student worker at WIUM. While in school Jonathan needed a summer job on campus. He heard WIUM was hiring, and put his bid in. Jonathan was welcomed on the team and was very excited to be using his music degree. He had also always been interested in news and public radio. He soon learned he was a much better reporter than a musician and his career was born. While at WIUM, Jonathan hosted classical music, completed operations and production work, was a news reporter and anchor, and served as the stage manager for Rural Route 3. Jonathan then went to on to WIUS in Springfield where he was a news anchor and reporter covering the state legislature for Illinois Public Radio. After a brief stint in commercial radio and TV, Jonathan joined WCBU in Peoria, first in operations then as a news reporter and for the last ten years of his time there he served as the News Director. Jonathan’s last job before returning to Tri States Public Radio was as the News Director/ Co-Director of Content for Iowa Public Radio. During Jonathan’s off time he enjoys distance running, playing competitive Scrabble, rooting for Chicago Cubs, listening to all kinds of music and reading as much as he can. He lives in Macomb with his wife Anita and children Tommy and Lily.
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