KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Parents and guardians now need to make an appointment for immunizations at the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department.
The department announced the new COVID-19 precaution Thursday, advising adults to call 816-513-6108 to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.
Walk-up immunizations will now be unavailable, as the clinic often draws long lines and wait times of more than two hours.
With more than 1,000 children typically vaccinated in the last two weeks of summer before school starts, the health department said moving to an appointment-only model will allow for greater social distancing.
Department officials urged parents and guardians not to wait until the last minute to get their child’s immunizations since it will be offering fewer appointment times to limit crowd size.
The department has implemented other policy changes for back-to-school shots, including:
- "Parents or guardians must bring their child’s vaccination records to the appointment.
- No more than four people may come to an appointment (One parent/guardian, three children.)
- Larger families may need to break up visits into separate days.
- Those three-years and older need to wear masks during appointment."
Adults should also bring picture ID, insurance of Medicaid cars, school letters and written, signed consent if they are not the child’s parent or legal guardian.
The department said it hopes to offer more opportunities for vaccinations in the future.
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