ST. LOUIS (KMOX)-He knows it's not easy, but Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force leader Dr. Alex Garza is urging people waiting to get the coronavirus vaccine to be patient.
Garza says the approval of the Johnson Johnson vaccine, and the increasing production of the Pfizer and Moderna versions, gives him hope that the region will be getting significantly larger shipments by the end of March. He tells Total Information AM Sunday that he understands people's frustration. "I read the stories of people venturing out to the rural areas. that's always concerning for us" he says. "We work as fast as our supply comes in so we're hoping that's going to improve"
While Missouri Health Director Randall Williams says the state could reach herd immunity by July, Garza believes that's more likely to happen later in the year. "I would push it farther, like third quarter maybe fourth quarter of 2021. I do think it's possible this year but, again,there are a lot of factors that play into that before you can make a realistic guess on when you're going to reach herd immunity."
And while cases are dropping in the St. Louis area, Garza sees a paralell to the plateau reached in late summer. "We were plateauing at a high rate and then cases took off in the fall/ wintertime. That's why we're concerned about it. We're plateauing at a high rate and if those variants take hold then it could spell some trouble for us."
Garza says he's also concerned that people are beginning to return to their normal activities. He says it's too soon for that.
