Local Pharmacies will Become Priority Vaccination Locations

During today’s briefing at the State Capitol, Governor Mike Parson announced that pharmacies across Missouri will begin receiving prioritized shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine through a new State Pharmacy Program.

With vaccine supply continuing to increase and more Missourians becoming eligible, we will now begin shipping vaccines to pharmacies in all regions and communities throughout the state - Governor Mike Parson

“With vaccine supply continuing to increase and more Missourians becoming eligible, we will now begin shipping vaccines to pharmacies in all regions and communities throughout the state,” said Governor Parson. “Local pharmacies are a trusted health care resource for many Missourians, so distributing vaccines to as many pharmacies as we can will help expand accessibility by providing a vast network of capable providers in every community.”

Starting next week, 15 percent of Missouri’s weekly vaccine allotment from the federal government will be allocated to the state’s pharmacy program.

The state has identified 161 pharmacies in 84 counties based on ability, location, and population. These pharmacies have the ability to administer 200 initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines per week and will consistently receive this number of doses in addition to booster doses for the next three to four weeks.

Participating pharmacies in Clay County are Summers Pharmacy in Kearney, Auburn Pharmacy in Smithville and two Price Chopper locations in Kansas City, stores 11 and 21.

The Missouri Pharmacy Association will submit orders to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) on behalf of partnering pharmacies. Missourians are encouraged to use the state’s vaccinator map at MOStopsCOVID.com to find participating pharmacies in their area or reach out to local pharmacies directly.

Allocations for each of Missouri’s vaccine delivery channels will be adjusted accordingly to accommodate pharmacies. Delivery channels and corresponding allocations through the week of March 22 are as follows:

High Throughput Health Centers: 35 percent

Mass Vaccination Events: 15 percent

Local Public Health Agencies: 15 percent

Federally Qualified Health Centers: 15 percent

Other Community/Enrolled Providers: 5 percent

Pharmacies: 15 percent

Starting the week of March 29, the state will shift vaccine allocations to reflect unvaccinated eligible populations in each of Missouri’s nine regions. Current delivery channels will be modified to incorporate those changes.

Starting the week of March 8, mass vaccination teams will begin transitioning operations to include a larger presence in Region A (Kansas City) and Region C (St. Louis). Eventually, two teams will be operational in Region A and three teams will be operational in Region C. The state expects a full transition by April 1. This timeline will allow vaccination teams to complete booster clinics for previous Moderna and Pfizer events and transition to the single dose Janssen vaccine.

Missourians are encouraged to visit MOStopsCOVID.com to view the latest vaccine updates, find out when they are eligible for the vaccine, and locate available vaccinators in their area.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story