Mayor Quinton Lucas asks federal government to step in on Missouri vaccine distribution

Source: KC Star

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is asking the federal government to establish COVID-19 mass vaccination sites in the city amid widespread anger that Missouri’s urban areas aren’t receiving more doses.

Lucas wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency to work with the city health department to hold mass vaccination events, according to a letter Lucas sent to FEMA Administrator Robert Fenton on Tuesday.

“The state’s unavailability of the vaccine was, and continues to be, compounded by an environment of resident confusion riddled with misinformation, competing eligibility lists, and broad-based distribution plans based primarily on our competing hospital systems in metropolitan areas of Missouri without compulsory collaboration,” Lucas wrote. .

Since Missouri’s vaccine rollout began in December, Gov. Mike Parson has faced criticism that the state’s distribution strategy is inequitable and favors less-populated rural areas over its largest cities. Parson has come under attack for not locating more National Guard-administered mass vaccination sites closer to Kansas City and St. Louis. Stories have surfaced of wasted doses in rural areas and city residents driving hours for appointments.

Read more: https://www.kansascity.com/news/coronavirus/article249641523.html