St. Louis County hopes to set a record this week for the number of vaccines it has been able to give in a week, along with adding capacity for more shots in the future.
St. Louis County received 6,000 vaccine doses from the state of Missouri Tuesday. That delivery contained last week’s doses, which were delayed by the weather, as well as this week’s doses.
Over the next seven days, the county said it intends to administer 6,000 first doses and 3,000 second doses for a total of 9,000 vaccinations. That would set a new record. Previously, the county had administered 5,000 shots in its peak week.
In the future the county expects to receive 3,000 doses per week, an amount that should grow once the state receives more vaccine supply. County officials are building capacity to administer up to 10,000 doses per week.
Vaccinations will be available at the John. C. Murphy Health Center in Berkeley, the Florissant Valley campus of St. Louis Community College in Ferguson and fire district sites in Mehlville, Affton, Bridgeton, Eureka, Maryland Heights and Pattonville.
All vaccinations are by appointment only, with no walk-ups taken.
The Department of Public Health now recommends that residents register with multiple vaccinators to have the best chance at getting an appointment.
- First, register with St. Louis County by visiting stlcorona.com. Click on the vaccine registration link.
- Second, register on the state’s Vaccine Navigator site. Go to covidvaccine.mo.gov and click on “register now.”
- Third, register on area hospital websites. All of our region’s hospital systems are taking registrations from the public.
- Finally, contact local pharmacies. Some locations may become approved vaccination sites.
While multiple registrations are recommended, it’s important to only accept one appointment so that you don’t prevent anyone else from getting their shot.
State-run mass vaccination sites
State-run mass vaccination sites are being announced on a weekly basis with a few days’ notice by Gov. Mike Parson’s office. After first state-run mass vaccination site held in St. Louis County last week, future state-run events will also pull from the state preregistration list, county officials confirmed.
The Missouri COVID-19 Vaccine Navigator, where state residents can preregister, is available at https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator/ by clicking “Register Now.”
Those without internet access can call 877-435-8411.
The state is listing future events on its website: https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/events/. A vaccination event March 1 and 2 in Arnold is already full, but many South County residents have had success getting the vaccine by driving hours to more rural areas of Missouri where the National Guard-staffed mass vaccination sites are being held.
Sign up with Walmart
Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs in Missouri started offering the COVID-19 vaccine to eligible Missourians Feb. 12, and one of the participating pharmacies is at the Walmart on Watson Road in Shrewsbury.
Only two Walmarts in the St. Louis region will be offering shots, including the Shrewsbury Walmart. The other St. Louis Walmart offering the shot is at 10741 W. Florissant Ave. in North County. Some St. Louis residents have reported success scheduling vaccinations in other places in Missouri through Walmart’s site.
To check eligibility and schedule an appointment, visit www.walmart.com/COVIDvaccine and www.samsclub.com/covid.
Anyone receiving the shot must be eligible under Missouri standards, which mean that anyone over the age of 65, first responders and healthcare workers can currently receive the shot.
The Walmart at 7437 Watson Road in Shrewsbury is one of the 81 Missouri locations offering the vaccine.
Sign up with hospitals
Residents can also sign up with St. Louis hospitals, which have been receiving most of the vaccine supply dedicated to the area by the state. But the hospital systems have sent emails to those who have preregistered noting that with hundreds of thousands of people on the waiting list, so far the hospitals have only been able to reach a small fraction of those who want the vaccine.
BJC HealthCare:
https://www.bjc.org/Coronavirus/Covid-19-Vaccines
You can register now to receive a vaccine and once your eligibility window opens you will be invited to make an appointment.
BJC has started giving people signed up a few weeks’ notice that they will be up on the vaccine list.
In an email sent Feb. 24, BJC said that more than 329,791 members of the community have signed up to receive vaccines, and the hospital system has vaccinated more than 70,038 eligible people, including employees, patients and many who have not visited a BJC hospital or a doctor.
The hospital has set up five vaccine clinics: St. Louis, Belleville, North County, Wentzville and Farmington.
Mercy:
Mercy has created an online method to help facilitate the process. If any 1A or 1B-1 providers or staff need the vaccine, visit mercy.net/MOVaccine to confirm eligibility and to register.
Patients signed up with Mercy received an email that with more than 388,000 people on Mercy’s waiting list, the hospital system has been able to vaccinate just a fraction.
SSM Health:
If you are a patient, register with MyChart at mychart.ssmhc.com. MyChart will send a notification to patients when it is time to register for a vaccination appointment. SSM is focused on vaccinating patients over 75 years old.
Questions may be sent to COVIDVaccinationSTL@ssmhealth.com.
St. Luke’s Hospital:
