Coping with COVID: Kansas City Mayor requests help from FEMA with COVID-19 vaccination events

On the same day Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hold COVID-19 mass vaccination events in the city, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson again named Arrowhead Stadium as a possible site for such events.

Lucas sent a letter on Tuesday stating that Missouri already is at a disadvantage due to receiving “a mere portion of the vaccines it was promised” late last year, specifically noting it received only 58% of expected Pfizer vaccines.

“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.

While federal-run events have been held at 18 sites throughout the country, none have been in Missouri, according to Lucas.

“Federally managed events, such as those your agency has begun conducting in municipalities across the nation, will provide all Kansas Citians a fairer shot at keeping themselves and their families safe regardless of race, socio-economic status, or access to healthcare, internet, or ability to drive long distances for vaccination opportunities,” Lucas wrote.

Parson said on Tuesday that the Missouri National Guard will likely be sent to Kansas City for mass vaccination events.