Once hesitant, more Missourians slowly opting to get vaccinated

KANSAS CITY, Mo – With Missouri offering cash incentives to people who go to get vaccinated, latecomers to the vaccine game have plenty of reasons to get vaccinated now.

Antinique Norwood is a busy mother, always chasing after two children. Her daughter’s pediatrician said she should get vaccinated after her 2-year-old developed a respiratory infection. Norwood says it was the right message at the right time.

“The second variant that comes back quite hard is the kind that really got me in and then my kids got sick,” says Norwood.

Angela Long, who got her second shot on Friday, didn’t get the shot right away.

“I was really hesitant about it,” Long said. “I don’t know how you could do something so fast to stop this.”

Her procrastination led to an infection. Long was hit hard by COVID-19 in April. She had something bad, Long took her son and granddaughter to get injections.

“This scares me. This new one they’re talking about is coming soon. I don’t know what to say about that. If you don’t get vaccinated, you’ll really get sick,” Long said.

About 20 people are expected to filter through a Jackson County vaccination event on Friday in Independence. Benjamin Door began his process before a family vacation to Florida.

“We were going to be staying with another family, and they wanted us to come over just to make sure everything was done,” Door said. “So I decided to come down here today to get it, and that’s the main reason.”

This week, Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced a vaccine promotion program called MO VIP. Missourians who have been vaccinated or have already started the vaccination process can enter for a chance to win $10,000.

About 165,000 people have signed up so far. Even though the people we spoke to didn’t know about it, they’re glad they do now. You can enter MO VIP here.

“That caught my attention,” Long said. “That got my attention for sure.”

Only 40% of Missourians are immunized and Kansas is about 42%. While health experts say they’ve seen a small increase in vaccinations over the past week or so, it hasn’t been enough to overcome the delta variation.