Governor Mike Parson announced during a briefing at the State Capitol on Wednesday, January 20, that the Missouri National Guard will begin assisting the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and other state partners in establishing COVID-19 vaccination sites across the state.

A news release says a mass vaccination team will be assigned to each of Missouri’s nine Highway Patrol regions.

Governor Parson says the purpose of these vaccination teams is to support the existing vaccinators and provide an additional vaccination source for eligible Missourians who may otherwise have a hard time receiving a vaccine.

The Missouri National Guard is providing teams of Soldiers and Airmen to assist in establishing and staffing mass vaccination and targeted vaccination sites. The National Guard also will be deploying administrative teams to assist local agencies and other providers with data backlogs.

Missouri National Guard mass vaccination teams consist of 30 support personnel who will provide assistance in the form of traffic control, administrative support and data input. Targeted vaccination teams consist of four-person teams with one vaccinator and three support staff to assist with administrative duties.

Administrative support teams consist of three personnel to assist providers with paperwork and data backlogs due to vaccination entry requirements.

A mass vaccination site is scheduled to begin this week in the Southeastern region, and other sites are scheduled to be operational in the remaining eight Highway Patrol regions by the end of January. These sites have the capability to provide up to 2,500 doses per day, per team. More details concerning dates and locations will be released once finalized.

Missourians are encouraged to visit MoStopsCOVID.com to see the latest vaccine updates, find out when they are eligible for the vaccine and locate available vaccinators in their area.