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St. Louis County health department aims to vaccinate hundreds of health care workers this week

The department said it is scheduling 100 1A workers to be vaccinated a day, Monday through Thursday this week

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The St. Louis County health department plans to offer vaccines to hundreds of health care workers in the coming days. County Executive Sam Page said Monday morning that his administration is working to secure more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine though it's unclear when they could arrive.

The county received 975 doses of the vaccine last week and 180 county health care employees who met Missouri’s definition of Tier 1A were the first to be vaccinated.

Those 180 public health workers represent 65% of the 275 St. Louis County Department of Public Health employees who are eligible based on the state’s requirements, according to a press release from the department.

This week, vaccinations will continue to be administered to health department employees as well as employees not affiliated with the department's hospital systems who qualify in the 1A tier.

The health department said it is scheduling 100 1A workers to be vaccinated per day, Monday through Thursday this week. On Friday, the department anticipates scheduling 320 1A workers to be vaccinated.

In addition to nurses and doctors not connected to a hospital provider, other examples of workers who are eligible for a vaccine include school nurses, dentists, behavioral health and substance use providers, optometrists and physical therapists. People in those categories can request information on getting on the county’s list by emailing dphcovidvaccine@stlouisco.com.

Watch Page's briefing in the video player:

At this time, the health department said it doesn’t know when it will receive additional vaccines or the number of doses. 

The department also said it’s unclear when the state will allow vaccinations of people in the 1B tier, which includes those ages 65 and older and those who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

The health department reported the county has an average of 560 new cases per day, which is up slightly from the average a month ago.

Click here for more information on the COVID-19 vaccine in St. Louis County.

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