Community Corner
St. Louis County Announces Back-To-School Vaccine Push
With just weeks left in the school year, parents are eager for their children to receive the vaccine.
June 30, 2021
Wednesday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced an effort to vaccinate students against COVID-19 ahead of the fall semester.
Find out what's happening in St. Louisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
School districts plan tentative vaccine clinics for 12-15 age group
With just weeks left in the school year, parents are eager for their children to receive the vaccine. Theresa Wright was elated to hear her 15-year-old could be vaccinated within the next week.
The announcement comes almost two months after health officials gave emergency authorization for use of the Pfizer vaccine on children ages 12-15. Many local school districts hope to have all students back in the classroom this fall after more than a year of hybrid or remote learning.
Health officials are concerned about the rise of the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is currently leading to an increase in cases in parts of Missouri. Some health experts are concerned that the more transmissible Delta strain will lead to a surge of cases in the fall.
Find out what's happening in St. Louisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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Hospital in hard-hit Springfield turns away COVID patients
Some COVID-19 patients are being turned away from an overwhelmed Springfield hospital where cases are surging and taken to less-stressed hospitals hundreds of miles away in Kansas City and St. Louis.
According to Page, only one-third of 12-19 year olds in St. Louis County have begun the process of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. As part of a push to get more shots into arms, Page announced that students will be able to get all their immunizations along with the COVID-19 inoculation for free at one of the three permanent health department clinics from mid-July thru September. The clinics are the John C Murphy Health Center in Berkeley, North Central Community Health Center in Pine Lawn and the South County Health Center in Sunset Hills.
At the health clinics, students will also be able to get physicals and receive dental examinations.
In addition, the health department said they are working with school nurses to provide vaccinations for students who can not make it to the clinics.
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