FERGUSON, Mo. — Every time another person steps through the front door next to a vaccine clinic sign at St. Louis Community College, they're hoping this is their chance to sit down for the coronavirus vaccine.
"My wife is a pharmacist -- and she's gonna be mad -- but she gave me the flu shot and it hurt. This one I didn't even feel it," Jeff Scheidler said after his shot.
Pharmacists Rajen Thanki also reported a smooth experience.
"I was apprehensive," Thanki said. "I wondered how it was going to go, but organization is the key. They did a great job of organizing."
But one condition outside of the county's control: supply. The county only has 3,900 vaccines for the Ferguson location, with more than 260,000 people pre-registered for the shots.
"This week and last week, we received no vaccines from the state, and it's unclear when our next shipment will come," St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page said. "This makes it hard for our health professionals to plan."
Page has previously said the county schedules a number of appointments that reflect their vaccine supply.
Diagnosed with lung cancer, Bernie Byrne is on every registry he can find but is still waiting for an appointment. So he headed to the north county site hoping -- but failing -- to get a vaccine.
"We just figured 'let's go and see what's up,'" Byrne said.
The closest Byrne has come to securing an appointment, was the call he got from someone in the Rolla-area. Unfortunately, it's a call he missed.
"Don't turn your phones off," Byrne said as he headed home.
The county health department plans to open up at least 5,000 appointment slots this week. But only individuals who fall into categories set by the state will be allowed to get the vaccine at this time.
For more information and to register for vaccine information, visit St. Louis County's coronavirus website.