Sophomore Nicole Lawson is one of many undergraduate students that has been able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as someone that falls under the Phase 1A of Missouri’s vaccination plan.
As a care team associate at University Hospital, Lawson felt getting the vaccine is important for protecting patients she comes into contact with at work.
“Even if I’m not on a floor where there are COVID patients, I’m still a university student,” Lawson said. “I’m still attending classes with people who might not be as safe as I am. I was honestly afraid of possibly bringing it into the hospital, and I want to keep my patients safe.”
The COVID-19 vaccine began distribution in central Missouri Dec. 15 to Phase 1A individuals. Missouri’s vaccination plan identifies those included in Phase 1A as patient-facing, hospital and long-term care facilities personnel.
Sara Humm, community relations specialist at Boone County Public Health and Human Services, said Boone County has vaccinated nearly all of those in Phase 1A who want to be vaccinated, and has moved onto Phase 1B Tier 1, which includes first responders, emergency services and public health infrastructure. While the county has been approved to begin vaccinating Phase 1B Tier 2, which is high-risk individuals, Humm said a limited supply of vaccines has prevented them from moving into Tier 2.
A press release from the City of Columbia on Jan. 22 said the vaccine supply is limited because the city must first receive vaccine supplies from the state, which has to acquire them from the federal government.
“It’s really hard to be able to tell when we might be able to move from tier to tier because we have a lack of supply and the supply chain has been kind of inconsistent,” Humm said.
Humm said a frequently asked question is when will the vaccine be available to the general public. She said it’s extremely hard to predict this not only because of the limited supply but because they don’t know exactly how many people are in each phase and tier.
“Some folks may be in, let’s say, Tier 3,” Humm said. “Maybe they’re a teacher, but maybe they’re also over the age of 65. And so they could actually get vaccinated in Tier 2.”
Boone County Public Health and Human Services is encouraging those interested in getting vaccinated to fill out the Columbia/Boone County COVID-19 Vaccine Survey online so they can be notified when the vaccine is available to them.
In a statement emailed to students on Jan. 25, MU administration said that faculty and staff who do not fall into risk categories are part of Phase 2 and most students will fall into Phase 3.
The statement also encouraged students to continue wearing face coverings, maintaining social distance and monitoring symptoms using the #CampusClear app until CDC and MU guidelines change.
While Lawson said she was a little nervous to be one of the first of her friends and family to receive the vaccine, she was glad she got it and experienced only minor symptoms after her second dose.
“I think you’d have to keep in mind that so many people were working on it, and we had so much more funding for it,” Lawson said. “So I don’t really think there’s a reason to be scared to get it.”
_Edited by Sophie Chappell | schappell@themaneater.com _