Area vaccine efforts praised

AP File

Missouri’s first mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic, held Friday in Poplar Bluff, allowed 2,000 people to be vaccinated and a secondary event Saturday provided over 400 more vaccinations.

The success of the program was a community effort, agreed Butler County Health Department Director Emily Goodin and Butler County Emergency Management Director Robbie Myers, during a weekly briefing Wednesday.

“So as for the vaccine, we did have our big mass event,” Goodin said. “The National Guard came down and we were able to administer roughly 2,000 doses of the COVID vaccine to those that fall within the targeted tiers. We’re still entering in all the data information. So, we don’t have the accurate number right now, but it’s roughly around 2,000 people.

“I just want to thank not only the National Guard, but also the Poplar Bluff PD. Traffic was a lot crazier than what anybody could expect with the first people lining up about 5:30 in the morning.”

She also thanked MoDOT, the highway patrol, Poplar Bluff Fire Department, all the churches that came and helped, the hospitals, Three Rivers College with their nursing students and staff, and AmeriCorps.

“It was a great big community effort that everybody came together to get this done and at the end of the day, we got the vaccine out to our community,” Goodin said. “That is all that matters. I think it went over fairly well, the state was really happy. We put Poplar Bluff on the map that day.”

Goodin said officials are, “taking that same plan and taking it throughout the state. So, I think it went really well.”

The National Guard doesn’t come back until Feb. 12 to follow up with the second dose.

“So we’ve got a little bit more time to plan for that one,” Goodin said. “Hopefully, we can look at what went wrong at this past clinic and correct those actions to make the next clinic even better.”

Myers said, “I think everyone worked very well together and have been the first out of the gate here in the state. I think it went about as well as could be expected. I know going forward will be even better from the lessons learned.”

Goodin said the health department did receive a vaccine shipment from the state this week.

“Like I’ve mentioned before, we place orders every week and we never know when we’ll get orders or how much vaccine we’re going to get,” Goodin said. “But we did get some doses this past week. So we are calling those on our waiting list. Again, if they fall into the appropriate targeted tiers, we will be getting them scheduled and getting them back in to take the vaccine.”

The center lists 4,046 COVID-19 cases in Butler County since the beginning of the pandemic last March.

Goodin said, “We are still doing screenings twice a week at the health department by appointment. It’s rapid testing. Go on our website or go on our Facebook page, there’s an appointment link that you can sign up there.”

Myers also praised Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center and it’s staff who “stepped up and helped on Saturday to get over 400 more doses out. So we also want to thank PBRMC not only for Friday when the nurses helped, but also hosting a secondary event on Saturday on a very short notice.”

Boys and Girls Executive Director Chris Rushin said the attendance numbers at the club have been climbing.

“We actually went up over 400, with a bonus of 410,” Rushin said.

Rushin commended the staff and students for “continuing to do our protocols. I couldn’t be more proud of our staff and our kids for the efforts they’ve made to keep us in school.”

The next COVID briefing is scheduled at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3.