Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced March 4 that pharmacies across Missouri will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines. Along with major providers like Walmart and Walgreens, vaccines will be provided to small, local pharmacies including Legacy Drugstore in Warrenton and Wright City.

The Warren County Health Department says local pharmacies will be able to order doses of the vaccine, but will still be subject to supply limitations similar to what other providers experience. Health officials are recommending reaching out to local pharmacies to inquire about signing up for vaccination.

“This will be another avenue for our residents to get the vaccine in our county, in addition to the weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinics held by appointment at the Warren County Health Department and clinics held by registration at Compass Health,” county health officials said. 

The state of Missouri also now has multiple online resources to help people find vaccination providers. One is a map that shows registered vaccination providers in any area of the state: covidvaccine.mo.gov/map.

The other resource is  Missouri COVID Vaccine Navigator, a service to help connect those eligible for the vaccine with potential vaccination clinics in their area. The service requires registration and will send users an email when a potential appointment becomes available for them. The vaccine navigator can be accessed at: covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator.

About 15 percent of Missouri’s COVID vaccines will go to pharmacies over the next few weeks, according to a press release from Gov. Parson’s office.

“With vaccine supply continuing to increase and more Missourians becoming eligible, we will now begin shipping vaccines to pharmacies in all regions and communities throughout the state,” said Gov. Parson. “Local pharmacies are a trusted health care resource for many Missourians, so distributing vaccines to as many pharmacies as we can will help expand accessibility by providing a vast network of capable providers in every community.”

In other good news, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued new guidance this week that fully vaccinated people should be safe to gather indoors, without a mask, with other fully vaccinated people. Vaccinated people can also comfortably visit with unvaccinated people from one other household, such as close family, without fearing too much risk, the CDC says. The exception is if one of the unvaccinated people has increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Vaccinated people should continue taking health precautions in public, according to the CDC.