Cole County officials closed the Cole County COVID-19 vaccination clinic Thursday.
The clinic provided more than 7,200 vaccinations over its 13 weeks of operation, Cole County Health Department Director Kristi Campbell said during an online COVID-19 update Thursday.
Cole County commissioners signed a lease for the Capital Mall site in March, allowing the county to use the space for $10,000 per month through July.
County and state health officials anticipated the location would act as a regional vaccination site and would administer up to 4,000 vaccines per week. Organizers expected the site to draw patients from neighboring counties.
When it opened April 12, it was open four days a week.
However, Missourians have been hesitant to receive the vaccine for COVID-19.
Within a week of opening, the Cole County site began accepting walk-in patients. Only 1,712 people came into the clinic for vaccinations that first week. It served 736 patients the following week.
Numbers fluctuated but continued to drop.
By May 24, the site reduced its hours to two days per week but extended some hours into the evening.
In early June, the site was open one day a week and provided only 217 vaccinations June 3. It provided 165 vaccinations each of the following two weeks and 113 on June 24.
Only 92 patients came in for vaccinations July 1 and 64 on July 8.
Despite the closing, Campbell noted Thursday there are at least 14 sites in Cole County where free COVID-19 vaccinations remain available. Most retail pharmacies (Walgreens, Hy-Vee, Walmart and Target) are open daily and don't require appointments for the vaccinations. Visit "Find a Vaccine" at covidvaccine.mo.gov/find/#vaccine-finder to find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you.
Starting July 22, the Cole County Health Department will offer Pfizer vaccines at 3400 W. Truman Blvd. in Jefferson City. The vaccines will be available 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays with no appointment necessary.
Capital Region Medical Center will begin offering COVID-19 vaccines 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday in the Capital Care Pharmacy, located on the second floor of the physicians office building at 1125 Madison St. in Jefferson City. Vaccines will then be available 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The pharmacy will offer Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
CRMC also offers vaccinations 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at the Capital Care Pharmacy at 901 Kidwell Drive in Versailles.
SSM Health Medical Group clinics will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations to established and new patients at sites next week. Vaccination options for emergency department patients will also soon be available. Visit the hospital website at ssmhealth.com/locations/st-marys-hospital-jefferson-city or call 573-681-3000 for more information or to schedule an appointment.
Jefferson City Medical Group offers COVID-19 vaccinations 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday in its vaccination clinic at 1241 W. Stadium Blvd. The clinic offers Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson or Moderna vaccines.
The Community Health Center of Central Missouri offers vaccinations 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday at its main clinic, 1511 Christy Drive in Jefferson City. All three COVID-19 vaccines are available.
Community Health Center also offers Moderna and J&J vaccines from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at its clinic at 1016 E. Main St. in Linn; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday at its clinic at 606 E. Buchanan St. in California; and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at its clinic at 561 Commons Drive in Fulton.
CRMC and St. Mary's Hospital reported rises in the volume of COVID-19 patients they are seeing.
Dr. Randall Haight, vice president of medical affairs at CRMC, said the hospital had about 16 or 17 COVID-19 patients daily this week. Last week, the volume was 10-12 a day. It was in the five-patient range the week before and only a couple the week before that.
Vaccination is strongly encouraged, Haight said.
Data indicates 99 percent of all COVID-19 deaths occurring are with the unvaccinated population, he said.
Mike Hyde, chief nursing officer at St. Mary's Hospital, reported the hospital had 17 COVID-19-positive cases Thursday.
"Those are also in large part unvaccinated. Our vaccination does seem to be effective," he said. "Those who are ill enough to be in the hospital are typically unvaccinated."
Emergency rooms are filling with "really sick" patients again, Hyde said.
The delta variant of the virus is going strong in Central Missouri (and all of Missouri), Haight said, and it's much more virulent than earlier variants.
"Patients are becoming sick more rapidly," he said, "and getting sicker."
He warned some predictions show Missouri will be worse off in six weeks than it was in November, the peak of the first wave of COVID-19 in the area.
"Our health care workers are really having post-traumatic stress," Haight said. "Please get vaccinated for the health care workers who are trying to take care of our community."
Campbell told the News Tribune health care workers are concerned about the number of new cases arising in Cole County.
In March, the county had 100 total cases of COVID-19. Four were breakthrough cases (those that occurred in patients who had been vaccinated).
In April, there were 92 cases, with three breakthrough. In May, there were 88 cases, with 11 breakthrough. In June, there were 207, 37 breakthrough cases.
Through Wednesday, there have been 205 new cases, 41 of them breakthrough.
Most breakthrough cases have experienced mild symptoms, Campbell said, but there have been cases in which the patient required hospitalization.
"We would assume that most (breakthrough patients) had symptoms and sought treatment from their physician, who ordered a COVID-19 test," Campbell said. "Some could have also needed a test before an outpatient or elective procedure/surgery/etc."
The county is not aware of how many of the new cases are caused by the delta variant. Not every clinical specimen is sent or verification, Campbell said.
There will be COVID-19 testing clinics 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 8 and 11, and Sept. 12 and 26 at the American Legion, 1423 Tanner Bridge Road in Jefferson City.
Testing is also available 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays at JCMG Express Care at 1241 W. Stadium Blvd., as well as 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays at JCMG Express Care at 1735 Elm Court.
For more testing sites, visit health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/community-test.php.