No walk-ins or pediatric vaccine appointments in St. Louis County until more doses arrive | Metro

Finn Washburn, 9, will receive an injection of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in San Jose, California, on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, while his sister, Piper Washburn, 6, waits her turn. The US entered a new phase in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Wednesday, with injections now available to millions of elementary school-aged children. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Noah Berger

NS. LOUIS COUNTY — Pediatric doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine didn’t arrive in St. Louis County as expected on Friday, meaning no walk-ins will be accepted or new appointments made until they do, officials said.

The county pre-ordered 3,600 doses but received only 300, said health department spokesman Christopher Ave. Ave said the county was expecting thousands more Friday, but they didn’t arrive. The next shipment is expected on Monday or Tuesday.

Ave said the county would not make new agreements or take walk-ins until it has enough vaccine in hand.

The 300 doses that St. Louis County has received will be administered Saturday at the John C. Murphy Health Center in Berkeley to those who have already made appointments.

The vaccine’s approval for children aged 5-11 has sparked a hunt among families for vaccines. Pharmacies first opened the appointments, but were soon seized. More have been opened in recent days.

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Madison County health officials are scheduling appointments for children starting Wednesday, online at www.madisonchd.org or by calling (618) 692-8954, ext. 2.

The federal website Vaccines.gov now also lists open appointments and area officials have listed upcoming clinics.