Locations around Lindenwood in St. Charles are offering COVID-19 vaccinations to those eligible, and Lindenwood itself will be hosting a vaccine site this weekend. 

Near the beginning of the Spring semester, a virtual town hall for Lindenwood took place where the idea of Lindenwood becoming a vaccine point of distribution was introduced. 

Lindenwood will be hosting two dates for the vaccinations. The first will be Saturday, April 10, and the second will be May 8 for the booster doses. The event is from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m and will take place at the the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts. Participants must be at least 18 years of age. 

Julee Mitsler, director of communications for Lindenwood, said in an email that the event will provide 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to the Lindenwood and St. Charles communities.

“Lindenwood is glad that we can offer space to serve the community in this extremely important way,” Mitsler said.

Mitsler said Compass Health Network will be hosting the event and administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Mitsler also said 200 doses of the vaccine have been reserved for full-time faculty and staff of Lindenwood. 

Beginning Friday, April 9, all Missouri currently unvaccinated residents over the age of 16 in Phase 3 will be eligible to receive a vaccine. 

Out-of-state and international students are able to register for the vaccines using their Lindenwood campus address. Those who register will receive a confirmation email. 

Other vaccination sites will also allow all students to register online for a vaccine using a Missouri address. 

Jasmine Freeman, manager outpatient care center and leader of the SSM Health Urgent Care located at 711 Veterans Memorial Parkway, said that residents should schedule appointments online to get the vaccine.

Freeman said those who register will show up to the SSM site, get their temperature checked at the door, complete registration upon check-in, and are then sent to a room to receive a vaccination. The location provides the Pfizer vaccine. She said the total time of the process takes about 25 minutes. 

Participants have to wait for up to 15 minutes after getting the vaccine to ensure they don’t have a negative reaction. Freeman said there hasn’t been a negative reaction at any of the SSM Health locations since the start of vaccinations. 

Janet Santonge, a St. Charles resident who received a Pfizer vaccine at the SSM Health site, said that as soon as the vaccine was available to her, she wanted to get it.

“I have grandchildren we haven’t seen a whole lot of in the past year. I’ve had open heart surgery and I’ve heard all the horror stories of how bad it [COVID-19] is once you’ve had certain conditions,” Santonge said.

Santonge said now that she’s vaccinated, she is looking forward to seeing her family and possibly travelling.

Doug Bolnick, Public Information Officer for the St. Charles County Department of Public Health, said in an email interview that they encourage individuals to register any time for access to the vaccine.  

Outside of the Lindenwood campus, many businesses are offering vaccines to those eligible for phase 1A, 1B [tiers 1-3], and Phase 2. This includes a range of people, from healthcare personnel to those who are homeless.  

Locations in the Saint Charles area as well as all of Missouri can be located here. 

Bolnick said the Department of Public Health is an authorized vaccination provider, but anyone can register through pharmacies, hospitals, or other providers to be vaccinated. 

Bolnick said the Department of Public Health issues vaccinations by appointment only to ensure that vaccines are provided to those who wish to receive it. 

The Department of Public Health is able to provide vaccinations of Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Janssen products. The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech products both require two doses, with Pfizer being 21 days apart and Moderna being 28. 

Bolnick said that the Janssen product only requires one dose, and a person is considered fully vaccinated after one dose.

Bonick said the St. Charles Public Health Department offers vaccinations to those attending Lindenwood. 

“For our purposes, those who are attending Lindenwood University are considered St. Charles County residents and are invited to register to receive a vaccination from us,” Bolnick said in an email.

Out-of-state and international students should register here. 

The vaccine requires no insurance or medical billing. Those looking to receive a vaccine must only register online and meet the requirements.