Mar 04, 2021

Governor: More mass vaccination teams coming to Kansas City

Posted Mar 04, 2021 10:00 PM
Missouri Governor Mike Parson with members of the National Guard during a vaccination event on Thursday
Missouri Governor Mike Parson with members of the National Guard during a vaccination event on Thursday

KANSAS CITY —The mayor of Missouri’s largest city has asked the federal government to make sure the state's urban residents get better access to coronavirus vaccines.

In a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas wrote wrote that the federal government has plans to set up 18 mass vaccination sites around the country, but none of them are in Missouri. He asked that Kansas City be added to the list.

On Thursday, Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced plans to get more vaccine to Kansas City.  "While vaccine distribution is based on population throughout each region, we do recognize that some Missourians are less interested in receiving a vaccine than others," Parson wrote on twitter.

"Vaccine interest is often highest in urban populations, so starting next week, we will begin transitioning mass vaccination teams to accommodate more events in Region A (Kansas City region) and Region C (St. Louis region). We expect a full transition by April 1."

Both mass and targeted vaccination events hosted by the state will begin utilizing the Johnson and Johnson vaccine as supply allows, according to Parson. This will help increase the scale and efficiency of these events as vaccination teams will not need to return for boosters.