Staying Up to Date on the COVID Vaccine in St. Louis County
The St. Louis County Health Department has created an online portal for St. Louis County residents to pre-register for the COVID-19 vaccine. You will be contacted by the St. Louis County Health Department when you are eligible to receive one of the vaccines. You can sign up at stlcorona.com. If you do not have internet access, you can call 314-615-2660, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The department is asking that only those without internet access use the phone number to pre-register for one of the vaccines.
It is important to note that signing up through the portal does not necessarily mean you will be able to receive one of the vaccines right away. While planning for the distribution of the vaccines, the state of Missouri developed a tiered list to determine the order of who would receive the vaccine first.
The state of Missouri is currently vaccinating those who fall into the Phase 1A, Phase 1B Tier 1 and Phase 1B Tier 2 categories. Phase 1A includes long-term care facility residents and staff and health care workers who work directly with patients. Phase 1B includes high-risk individuals ages 18-64 and individuals over 65, first responders and essential workers. If you think you might qualify as an essential worker or are at a higher risk for severe illness from the virus, you can visit Missouri’s COVID-19 vaccine website, covidvaccine.mo.gov, for more information about the tiered distribution process and facts about the available vaccines. By pre-registering through the St. Louis County Health Department’s online portal, the health department will be able to contact you when they begin offering vaccines in the distribution tier in which you are eligible. If you are eligible to receive the vaccine currently, you must be pre-registered and have an appointment. No walk-up appointments will be available at vaccination events.
The state’s COVID-19 vaccine website also includes the Missouri COVID-19 Vaccine Navigator, found at covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator. This webpage offers information specifically about registering for one of the vaccines and answers questions about that process. If you have internet access, the department is encouraging you to register online. If you do not have internet access, you may call the state COVID-19 hotline at 877-435-8411, which is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Recently, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health opened up four additional vaccination sites. Now, vaccinations are available at the John C. Murphy Health Center in Berkeley, the St. Louis Community College Florissant Valley campus in Ferguson and the fire districts in Affton, Eureka, Mehlville and Pattonville. The St. Louis County Department of Public Health is working hard to vaccinate as many eligible citizens as possible, and their goal is to vaccinate 5,000 people per week, as long as there is a sufficient supply.
In addition, St. Louis County is partnering with the Missouri National Guard, the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and the State Emergency Management Agency to conduct a mass vaccination event at the UMSL campus this Saturday, Feb. 20. To register, visit covidvaccine.mo.gov and click on the “Register Now” button. No walk-up vaccines will be given at this event.
St. Louis County Loosening Some Restrictions
Finally, I have a bit of good news for our community. St. Louis County is now allowing businesses, including restaurants and bars, to expand capacity to 50 percent from 25 percent. Other restrictions, including an 11:00 p.m. curfew for dining services, are still in effect.
St. Louis County Eases Restrictions on Youth and Adult Sports
With community spread of the virus slowing down and vaccinations increasing, restrictions for adult and youth sports are being relaxed. All three levels of adults sports – low, medium and high contact sports – are open for play, including tournaments with single competition games. In addition, youth sports tournaments have also received the green light to proceed. The same guidelines for adult sports will apply to youth sports, including wearing face masks and social distancing, as well as limiting the number of spectators. Indoor sports participants must wear face masks at all times, but face masks for outdoor sports participants are not required. While sports are not quite back to normal, I am excited that our children are able to play sports and enjoy some sense of normalcy during this tumultuous time.
As our state continues to navigate the effects of the pandemic, I am committed to working with my colleagues to support and pass legislation that moves our state forward during these trying times. While the past several months have been challenging, I am hopeful that better days are on the horizon for all of us.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, concerns or ideas to improve our state government. Thank you for reading my Capitol Report and I look forward to sharing more of our work with you soon.