Hermann Area District Hospital has discontinued rapid testing for the COVID-19 virus at the drive-through site across from the hospital.

Dan McKinney, hospital administrator, said as of April 26 all testing was being conducted at the hospital’s clinics in Owensville, Hermann and Montgomery City. 

“If a patient is symptomatic we are still doing them outside,” McKinney said.

The hospital and its clinics’ staff conducted what is expected to be their final large-scale vaccination clinic with second-round, or booster, shots administered to more than 500 recipients on May 1 at Hermann Middle School.

“Due to lack of demand, the plans are to allow the pharmacies to continue vaccination,” said McKinney in an email to the media. “The hope is that there will be a single shot vaccine in the near future so we will have the ability to administer through the clinics on an as need basis versus having to have six people at one time desiring to be vaccinated.”

This strategy comes on the announcement that 156 Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies in Missouri are offering walk-in and by appointment vaccinations. The plan covers 5,100 facilities nationally across 49 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., through a nationwide Get Out The Vaccine (GOTV) campaign to encourage more people to get vaccinated. 

Dr. Michael Rothermich, M.D., chief of staff at Hermann Area District Hospital, reports this week that new confirmed cases of the virus in Gasconade County “increased slightly, but remained low” this past week with only nine cases. The county’s “7-day PCR positivity rate” grew to just over 5 percent.

Rothermich noted all residents of Missouri continue to be eligible for vaccination, although most vaccines are only FDA authorized for people 18 or over at this time.  

The Pfizer vaccine is currently authorized for people 16 and over.  

He noted the Centers for Disease Control report that as of Monday, May 3, 37 percent of Gasconade County residents over age 18 have been fully vaccinated. While that figure is up from 30 percent two week ago, Rothermich noted it was “still a long way from the immunization goals of most experts” which hope for a  60 to 80 percent vaccination rate to acquire a herd immunity among the population.

“For people over age 65, Gasconade County is doing better, with 72 percent fully vaccinated — up from 61 percent completed two weeks ago,” Rothermich noted.

Walmart’s plan

Walmart customers who schedule an appointment can complete pre-vaccination paperwork ahead of time, if interested. Appointments can be made at walmart.com/COVIDvaccine and samsclub.com/covid.

Walmart Pharmacies are open seven days a week and are administering the approved J&J, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Individuals are not required to be a member to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club pharmacies are closed on Sunday.

Walmart and Sam’s Club continue to strongly encourage, but not mandate, associates to get vaccinated, according to a release from the company. To help make this process as easy as possible, the retailers are:

• offering appointments to associates in stores and clubs,

• providing two hours paid time to get a vaccine, regardless of where associates get their shots, and,

• allowing associates to get the vaccine during their shifts if vaccines are being offered at their location.