Hermann Middle School is the site for an appointment-only Pfizer vaccination clinic Saturday, April 10, as Hermann Area District Hospital and its clinics hold what may be the final large-scale immunization event for Gasconade County.

Ellen Schaumberg with the hospital’s administration said demand for vaccines against the coronavirus has decreased due to availability at area pharmacies. People have also traveled outside the county to obtain their vaccines at places such as Osage Beach and St. Charles, she said.

“There’s not enough interest since pharmacies have access to vaccines now,” said Schaumberg. “There’s more availability in the community.”

This event will, however, accommodate anyone 16-years-old or older seeking the vaccination. Therefore, a parent or guardian will need to sign a consent form for anyone under age 18 at the vaccination clinic.

Schaumberg said this clinic will allow those over 16 to acquire some immunization protection whereas the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are only available for those over age 18.

Registration is required by calling 573-486-2118. You will be assigned a designated time. The middle school is off of Highway 100 West and beside the Hermann High School complex 

Schaumberg said as of early Tuesday afternoon there were around 450 people singed up for the vaccine at Hermann. She will wait until Friday to pick up the county’s allocation of vaccines and will not be bringing back more doses than there are registrations for at the April 10 event.

“We will pick up only enough for what’s scheduled,” said Schaumberg. “We can get up to 1,200 doses but we will get only enough for what’s registered.”

The clinic coincides with the recent announcement that all adults in Missouri will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday (April 9).

Missourians belonging to Phase 1A, Phase 1B (all tiers) and Phase 2 are currently eligible for vaccination. Almost 28 percent of Missourians have initiated their vaccination, and 17.2 percent have completed their vaccination, according to statistics provided by the All for One Missouri campaign to promote awareness of vaccines against the potentially deadly virus.

This weeks marks the lowest level of new diagnosed cases of the COVID-19 virus since July 2020, according to Dr. Michael Rothermich, chief of staff at Hermann Area District Hospital.

Testing conducted at the clinic site across from the hospital show the county is only averaging one new confirmed case per day. That translates into a Gasconade County “7-day case rate” of around seven. Rothermich noted the 7-day positivity rate is “back up some, but still below 10 percent.”

The seven-day rate computes the total number of new coronavirus cases in the previous seven days divided by the county’s population (14,706).

Rothermich has been tracking the numbers throughout the pandemic. The recent figures translate into a common thread. Not enough testing, he said.

“This suggests we may not be testing enough, and I noted only 82 people were tested in our county last week, the first time less than 100 people were tested in a week since last June,” Rothermich said in his weekly report to the media. “Most of our positive tests continue to be PCR. Please consider being tested if you are sick or were exposed to someone with COVID (and not yet fully vaccinated).”

He also urged those who still wish to be tested to call the hospital’s registration number, 573-486-2118 as soon as possible if you want a vaccine without having to drive hours to receive one.  

“As of this writing, we had hundreds of available appointments, and it does not look like we will have enough people interested in being vaccinated to use all the doses we were able to secure for our county,” according to Rothermich.