Updated at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 27, with information on a north St. Louis County vaccination clinic
Officials have announced plans to open the first mass COVID-19 vaccination site in St. Louis County.
The future clinic will be located on the Florissant Valley campus of St. Louis Community College in Ferguson, County Executive Sam Page said during a press briefing Wednesday.
“In St. Louis County and across the country, our minority communities were hit hard and early by this pandemic,” Page said. “We must engage in communities that are underrepresented to ensure that everyone has access to the vaccine.”
Page said the county hopes to begin vaccinating residents at the north county site by next week, if the health department is able to obtain enough vaccine doses from the state. Initially, the plan is to vaccinate several hundred people per day, he added, but officials may be able to “scale that up” if they receive more doses.
The announcement comes after data released earlier this week showed few residents from predominantly Black areas of north St. Louis County had pre-registered to receive the vaccine.
Of the more than 318,000 people who have signed up for the vaccine through the county’s Department of Public Health, fewer than 5% live in ZIP codes that include Jennings, Berkley and Wellston.
Speaking at Wednesday’s press conference, Ferguson Mayor Ella Jones urged residents to get vaccinated, pointing to the “thousands of families” that have suffered during the pandemic and calling for equal access to relief efforts. “Every response to this pandemic must be done in a way that benefits all residents,” she said. “No one can be left behind.”
Anyone can pre-register online for the COVID-19 vaccine with the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, regardless of where they live.
For assistance, contact DPHCOVIDvaccine@stlouisco.com or call 314-615-2660.
Original story from Jan. 24:
More than 318,000 people have pre-registered for the coronavirus vaccine through the St. Louis County Department of Public Health. But they include few people from predominantly Black north St. Louis county neighborhoods, according to the county’s data on pre-registrations.
Less than 5% of the population in ZIP codes that include Wellston, Berkley, Jennings and other areas have signed up. By comparison, more than 30% of the population has pre-registered in some west St. Louis County zip codes, including Ladue, Chesterfield and Creve Coeur.
To help ensure that the county’s Black residents have access to the vaccine, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced on Sunday that Damon Broadus will lead an outreach effort as director of health promotion. Broadus previously served as the regional community impact director at the American Heart Association.
Page said the county needs to do a better job of making sure all people can receive vaccine.
“We have residents who have concerns about the vaccine, and some are not being reached with pre-registration information,” he said. “Damon and his team will build on a network of community partners we have to ensure that we get the message out to everyone about how to get the vaccine.”
But Page provided few details about exactly what the vaccine outreach plan will look like beyond partnering with unnamed community organizations that represent people at higher risk of dying from COVID-19, including those who are disabled and homebound, as well as patients at cancer centers.
Page said the health department is partnering with the County Older Resident Program to help older people without internet or email access sign up for vaccinations by phone.
The county will place its first mass vaccination site in north St. Louis County and release more details this week, Page said.
You can pre-register for the coronavirus vaccine with the St. Louis County Public Health department online here or by calling 314-615-2660.
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