When Dr. Andrea Otto started to see videos online of health workers getting their first doses of the coronavirus vaccine, she was overjoyed. After nearly a year of treating people with the coronavirus at her small clinic in Kirkwood, she saw an end in sight.
But when she asked state and local officials where she and the two other workers at her clinic could find shots, no one helped her. Health departments redirected her calls and didn鈥檛 answer emails.
鈥淚n the beginning it was just, 鈥榃here do we stand? When can we expect to be contacted and how?鈥� And when we started asking questions,鈥� she said, 鈥渨e realized there was no plan for us.鈥�
Weeks into the state鈥檚 vaccine distribution, workers at independent clinics like Otto鈥檚 wonder where they fall in line. They describe having to broker their own deals with large hospitals and health departments to find doses, with little guidance from Missouri officials.
Officials have said for months the vaccine is the key to ending the coronavirus pandemic, and those who work directly with coronavirus patients should receive their shots first.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services made health systems like BJC and Mercy a priority to receive vaccines because they have thousands of employees and treat hundreds of coronavirus patients a day.
But health care workers in small settings said they need help too.
鈥淲e have to stand up and have a voice because if we don鈥檛, no one will know that we鈥檙e here,鈥� Otto said.
While they wait for the vaccine, health care workers at small clinics continue to see patients.
鈥淧eople like myself in primary care practice who see multiple COVID patients a day and are on the front lines, we鈥檙e here in this war and being there to help out to prevent patients from going to the hospital,鈥� said Dr. Mimi Vo, who has a small clinic on south Grand Boulevard.
鈥淏ut we are actually completely overlooked, and that is so frustrating,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want to be there to help out, but I鈥檓 not being given a gun.鈥�
Vo tried for weeks to get the vaccine for her staff. Just like their counterparts at large hospitals, they鈥檙e treating coronavirus patients daily and are at a high risk of contracting the virus themselves. 鈥淎nd I see that fear in my staff,鈥� she said.
Because she has admitting privileges at Mercy Hospital South, Vo got the vaccine there last month. But her father, who is a doctor, and the three medical assistants at her clinic weren鈥檛 as fortunate. They eventually took a five-hour round trip to Lebanon, Missouri, to receive a dose at a hospital there.
Vo and dozens of other clinicians have formed a private group on Facebook to commiserate and send each other leads on where to find doses. Some in the group describe going to other states to receive shots.
鈥淭here was a physician in Orlando, Florida, who said 鈥極ur hospital is vaccinating any health care workers who show up, and it鈥檚 an honors system鈥�,鈥� Vo said. 鈥淭his one doctor said, 鈥業 may ride to Orlando, Florida, to get vaccinated.鈥� That鈥檚 how crazy it is right now.鈥�
Missouri鈥檚 vaccination distribution plan states for hospitals to receive vaccines, they must agree they will distribute them to 鈥渁ll qualified comers.鈥�
But so far hospitals are largely focused on vaccinating their own employees. Vo and Otto are upset when they hear about non-clinical workers who don鈥檛 have direct contact with patients receiving vaccine doses.
Hospital officials in the St. Louis region said while they may help distribute vaccine to independent health care workers at some point, it's not their responsibility to vaccinate them.
State Health Director Randall Williams agreed. All health care workers who want the vaccine need to be patient, he said, until the process is finished at large institutions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter of logistics once you move beyond a centralized location,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淏ut we are incredibly committed to doing it.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to find you, and get you that vaccine,鈥� Williams said.
State health officials aren鈥檛 discussing how they鈥檒l ensure all health care workers receive the vaccine. The state is planning to communicate with them through professional associations, said Lisa Cox, a spokeswoman for the health department, in an email.
Many counties in Illinois are distributing vaccines directly through health departments, vaccinating all health care workers who show up. But Missouri鈥檚 plan is still unclear. More details about vaccine distribution are expected to be released late this week, Cox said.
The St. Louis County Health Department will distribute some of its 975 doses to health care workers who don鈥檛 work in hospitals, officials announced last week. The federal government has not distributed any doses to the St. Louis Health Department.
In the meantime, doctors are increasingly trying to find vaccine on their own.
Dr. Matt Bruckel, CEO of Total Access Urgent Care, turned down a state shipment of vaccine because it came in batches of nearly 1,000 doses, more than twice as much as his clinics needed, he said. Total Access clinics are popular testing sites for the coronavirus. More than 10,000 patients a week receive tests from the company鈥檚 employees, he said.
Eventually Bruckel made a deal with Mercy Health to vaccinate his workers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 push, push, push, until you solve the problem,鈥� he said.
Even though finding the vaccine was difficult, Bruckel understands why large hospitals got the first shipments.
鈥淸It鈥檚] the old story of: You have big rocks, medium rocks, small rocks, sand and water,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ow do you fit it all into the bowl? We always, always start with the big rocks. You can't do anything unless you start with the big pieces first. So the hospital systems are the big pieces.鈥�
But not everyone has the time to broker a deal with a hospital for doses.
鈥淚鈥檓 so happy that people are going in droves to get the vaccine,鈥� said Otto, the Kirkwood doctor, last week. 鈥淏ut I just want to know I鈥檓 in the plan somewhere.鈥�
Otto has since received her first dose of the vaccine at a Mercy Hospital.
She hopes hundreds of other independent workers will soon have the same chance.
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