Missouri National Guardsman directs vaccinations at St. Charles state-run event. (Photo Jill Enders for Missourinet)
(Jill Enders contributed to this story)
St. Louis-area residents packed Forest Park Community College and the St. Charles Family Arena today for state-run mass vaccination events. Local media reported the car line was more than a mile long this morning at Forest Park Community College.
Governor Parson says about 18-thousand Missourians will be vaccinated between today and Saturday at Forest Park Community College, the St. Charles Family Arena, and at Queeny Park.
Parson also announced that this week, Missouri became number one in the nation for the lowest COVID-19 positivity rate.
“Our seven-day positivity rate is below four percent, a long time since we’ve seen those kinds of numbers,” he said at a press conference at St. Louis Community College Forest Park.
St. Louis Cardinals legend Ozzie Smith drew attention when he got his shot at the clinic.
The clinic in St. Charles County expects plans to deliver more than ten thousand first doses of the Pfizer vaccine over their three-day event.
Demetrius Cianci-Chapman, the Director of Public Health for St. Charles County, says the county has only had a 25 percent response from the 38,000 invitations they sent out for this event.
“People are finding vaccines elsewhere in the community. There’s clearly been an increase in the number of vaccines available in the community.” Chapman explained.
Chapman added that a small percentage showed up on Thursday without an appointment, but he said that happens at every clinic event.
Karisha Parks of St. Charles County received her vaccination on Thursday afternoon, but not without hesitation.
“I’m still kind of skeptical, not really sure what I just put in my body,” Parks said. “I think I’ll feel a little bit better once I get the second dose.”
Most wait times at the St. Charles Family arena averaged around 15 minutes.
Missouri vaccinators have now administered almost two-point-two million COVID shots, which includes the first and second doses. That’s 23 percent of Missouri’s population. The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says 254-thousand doses have been administered during the past week, an average of 36-thousand per day.