St. Louis, MO – Missouri will not be getting as many coronavirus vaccine doses as expected next week. The state was expecting to get around 64,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, but Missouri Health Director, Dr. Randall Williams, says the federal government will give the state around 19,000 fewer doses in the next shipment. Missouri received more than 50 thousand doses this week.
Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force Leader, Dr. Alex Garza, says local officials will make necessary adjustments. "A quote that we often use in the military," Garza says, "is that 'no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy', meaning you have to adapt to the conditions on the ground. You've heard me say earlier this week that there are going to be challenges along the way, and this certainly won't be the last one."
Meanwhile, Garza says coronavirus hospitalizations have plateaued well over 800 for the past month (887 were reported Saturday). He calls that a very dangerous plateau, "If there is a surge," he says, "there's going to be really little room to maneuver, and that's why it's so important for all of us to continue to stop the spread of the virus over the holidays."