ºüÀêÊÓƵ

“I have taken my first vaccine,� Parson told reporters Thursday. “I took it actually last week. Me and the first lady did here in Cole County.�

Parson, 65, and the first lady, 67, are both eligible for the vaccine in Missouri.

“We put ourselves on a list like everyone else, we got called up, we went down to the center,� Parson said. “They did an outstanding job here. … Everybody was in (an) extremely good mood. I will say that. And so it was pretty good for me to go out there and get it although I don’t like getting a shot that well.�

The Parsons both contracted COVID-19 last fall and recovered. Though most people infected with COVID-19 develop virus-specific antibodies, it is unclear how long the protection lasts, .

Currently, the state is vaccinating those in Phase 1A (hospital workers and long-term care facility workers and residents), Phase 1B-Tier 1 (first responders and other emergency workers), and Phase 1B-Tier 2 (seniors 65 and older and people with underlying health conditions).

The state has yet to open up Phase 1B-Tier 3, which includes teachers. Teachers have asked for increased priority as 95% of Missouri school buildings are open in some capacity, the Post-Dispatch reported earlier this week.

Seven of Missouri’s eight neighboring states — all except Oklahoma — have allowed teachers to get vaccinated, .

“Those people who are more likely to get sick, and bluntly to pass away if they get COVID, continues to be the governor’s focus,� said Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Department of Health and Senior Services. “We just feel it’s our obligation to protect those who are most likely to get really sick.�

Parson said Missouri vaccinators had administered an estimated 940,000 total doses, and that officials were confident they will have reached 1 million by the end of the week.

“Once supply will consistently allow, Missouri vaccinators … have demonstrated the capacity to administer nearly 50,000 vaccines per day,� Parson said.