Health director hoping for first week of March
A target date for a potential mass COVID-19 vaccination event in Platte County was announced by Mary Jo Vernon, director of the Platte County Health Department, on Thursday’s episode of Landmark Live.
Vernon said the goal is to have a mass vaccination event in Platte County around the first week of March. The planned location is in the Horizons Industrial Park in Riverside, she said.
She indicated the health department has secured the commitment from the developers of the Horizons Industrial Park to utilize a large distribution facility there for the mass vaccination event.
Of course the main key in providing such an event will be the ability to acquire a significant number of doses through the State of Missouri’s vaccine distribution plan. The county health department, typically on Mondays, is notified by the state as to the number of doses the department will receive each week.
Vernon said the Horizons Industrial Park developer has also made a generous donation to assist the health department in securing some of the equipment, supplies, and other resources to get the facility up and running.
At a meeting on Tuesday night, the Parkville Board of Aldermen passed a resolution “supporting COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Platte County.”
The resolution, in part, says: “It is critical to the safety of our residents that an effective vaccine distribution system is in place in Platte County, so that our residents have immediate access to the vaccine once it becomes available to them.”
The Parkville resolution goes on to say the board of aldermen supports the health department’s efforts in securing a location for a mass vaccine distribution site and supports the proper funding of the mass vaccination site to ensure Platte County residents “have an equitable opportunity to receive a vaccine, and further mitigate the public health threat from this pandemic.”
The Parkville Board of Aldermen said it would “immediately transmit this resolution to the governor, the Platte County delegation to the Missouri General Assembly, our Congressional delegation and the Platte County Commission.”
Also, the resolution states the Parkville Board of Aldermen “encourages the fair allocation of vaccine dosage to Platte County distribution sites from the state of Missouri, as well as from regional hospitals and pharmacies that have significant portions of their customer base from Platte County residents.”
In the resolution, the aldermen says it commits public works resources to assist with the “setup of the mass vaccination site, other city resources for communicating with residents about vaccine registration, including the identification of our vulnerable population, and any other needs that the city may assist the Platte County Health Department.
To view the Landmark Live episode featuring the health department director answering questions about the COVID-19 vaccination process, go to Platte County Landmark on Facebook.
If you haven’t yet registered your interest in receiving the vaccine on the Platte County Health Department’s website, go to https://us.openforms.com/Form/8c3d6585-ebb9-45a3-8d40-0046c31a9a80
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