ST. LOUIS — Cars pull into the St. Louis County Health Department lot Tuesday at noon with the newest patients arriving for a coronavirus shot. These are also – at least for now – the patients that will get their shots here.
The County said Monday it would pause new appointments as it entered three weeks without any shipments from the state.
“I know a lot of friends of mine have gotten theirs, a lot of them have gotten both of them, and a lot of them ain't got nothing,” Lamar McDonald said.
McDonald is one of the residents scheduled for a first shot Tuesday, though he knows people who have not made it this far in the process.
“I heard that they were having problems getting the vaccine, and I believe it too,” McDonald said.
County leaders have repeatedly said state information about vaccine shipments is coming slowly, sporadically, and – now, seemingly -- inaccurately.
A Feb. 4 automated email from Missouri’s ShowMeVax system shows the state was sending vaccines to the county, but officials say that shipment never materialized.
“I would get an appointment, I would fill in my information, and the appointment was taken,” vaccine patient Ruth Brooks said of the sign-up process.
Tuesday, Franklin County leaders expressed their own concerns over state strategy. Franklin County Presiding Commissioner Tim Brinker sent a letter saying that Region's C shipments don't match population percentages and "this allocation is inconsistent with the State's own published plan." Brinker says the state would have to more than double the Region C allotment in order to better align with population representation.
At the same time as Brinker’s email hits Parson’s office, plows clear the parking lot at St. Louis County's mass vaccination site. Less than a week after it opened, it's unclear when these spaces will be filled with patients again.
5 On Your Side reached out to the state for more information on Page and Brinker’s concerns, but we had not received a response by publication.
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