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'I waited about 4 hours' | Revisions coming after rain slows drive-thru vaccine event in St. Charles

Paperwork got wet, supplies were drenched and vaccinators had to give shots in the rain and cold

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — Like many, Lori Keith has waited a year for immunity. On Thursday, though, she had to wait a bit longer.

Four thousand people were getting vaccinated at the Family Arena in St. Charles.

But the weather rained on their projected times. The downpour caused hiccups and backups.

Paperwork got wet, supplies were drenched, vaccinators were in the rain and cold trying to give shots in unfavorable conditions.

This caused many to sit in traffic.

"I waited about four hours," Keith said. "As soon as I pulled off and I saw it backed up, I was like, 'Oh boy, we’ll be here awhile.'"

Credit: Lori Keith

Thursday morning, 5 On Your Side spoke to Demetrius Cianci-Chapman, head of the St. Charles County Health Department.

He explained that drive-thrus are supposed to go quicker.

"In and out, people should be here for 45 minutes. Much more efficient, more shots in arms," Cianci-Chapman said.

Lori Malloy's husband was in a queue for 30 minutes before whipping a U-turn.

Malloy said: "When he got there in line, the line did not move for like 30 minutes. He was not able to wait in the car. I really urged him to stay in line."

Credit: Lori Malloy

That's because they have a family wedding coming up.

"We needed him to get that," she said. 

Event organizers realized a change was needed. Adding more lanes, bringing in more vaccinators.

By 4 in the afternoon, teams were finally giving vaccines every four minutes.

The last vaccine was at 9; the plan was to have the last one at 6:45.

A spokesperson says they are taking notes for next week, since three drive-thru events are happening. They plan to vaccinate 8,000 to 9,000 people, including some in Tier 3.

They plan to order more tents, and if it rains, they will reevaluate whether they need to go inside. 

We're told it wasn't the way they wanted it to go, and they hope next week it's a smoother ride.

Fortunately, they didn't waste any vaccines. They made last-minute calls at the end of the day to get people vaccinated, since some didn't stay in line.

Said Erin Schwartzkopf-Westermayer: "I think I hopped in line around 3:30 and got vaccinated at 6:45. Once you got past the lines coming in and actually made it to where they were checking people in, it went very smoothly. The form/consent section and actual vaccination lines were well-organized, including handling separate sections for people that needed longer wait times for reactions. The people working were all really friendly and seemed to be making the best of it. Honestly, I'm just glad I got to get a vaccine without having to drive three hours each way on a weekend."

Even though she also was in her car for hours, Keith felt grateful.

"It’s a sigh of relief," she said.

Nothing could rain on her parade. 

"The volunteers were absolutely great, very nice. I appreciated them to be there, because without them, it wouldn’t have been done," Keith added.

Those who got out of the line will not be removed from the list.

They'll get notified to pick an appointment for another scheduled event at the Family Arena.

The invite-only events next week require registration on the St. Charles County Health Department's website.

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