KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri will activate the National Guard to “speed up” the COVID-19 vaccination process, Gov. Mike Parson announced on Wednesday.
Mass vaccination sites will be established at each of Missouri’s nine Highway Patrol regions through a partnership between the National Guard and the Department of Health and Senior Services, Parson said.
Once active, each site will have the capacity to administer up to 2,500 doses daily. The National Guard, according to Parson, has started securing sites and will begin administering vaccines by the end of January.
The first site will be in southeast Missouri, and is expected to be set up this weekend.
Missouri National Guard Maj. Gen. Levon Cumpton said 290 service members are supporting COVID-19 response efforts throughout the state. They are working with regional food banks and assisting with data entry and call center operations.
Thirty airmen and soldiers will be on each mass vaccination team to assist with traffic control, administrative support and data input.
Vaccine supplies still are “extremely limited,” Parson said, but the state “continues to receive steady shipments of vaccines.”
“It is important for all Missourians to understand that until vaccines become more widely available, they will be administered on a very limited basis.”
