Vaccines will put COVID in rearview

The Poplar Bluff Police Department is housing the Emergency Operations Center while Missouri is under a state of emergency.

DAR/Michael Shine

The year 2020 has been challenging, but Butler County Emergency Management Director Robbie Myers said the goal is to put COVID in the rearview mirror.

“It’s going to take a bit but we just need to have a little more patience, be kinder to one another,” Myers said.

The COVID-19 vaccine is being administered in the Poplar Bluff area, officials discussed Wednesday during the weekly briefing at the Poplar Bluff Police Department.

Gathering there were Butler County Health Department Director Emily Goodin, Poplar Bluff City Manager Matt Winters, Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Ralph Stucker and Poplar Bluff Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Chris Rushin. Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center Chief Compliance Officer Johnna Craft participated via telephone.

On Wednesday, 12 new COVID cases were announced bringing the total number in Butler County to 3,392.

Craft said, the hospital has six COVID patients, but the last couple days have been positive.

“Like everyone else, we’re looking for the vaccinations to have available for our staff,” she said. “We’re still waiting on distribution at this time ... (We’re) trying to make sure everyone’s safe and taken care of.”

The state will not release COVID numbers Christmas Eve, but the health center will, Goodin explained.

“We will be recording our numbers for Christmas Eve. We won’t be recording on Friday, and we take off on the weekend. So we’ll report again on Monday,” she said.

A mass testing will be held from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Monday at Whiteley Park.

“It’ll probably be our last mass testing,” Goodin said. “We are shifting gears toward vaccinations. However, we still do have the rapid machine available with appointments.”

The “state’s been pretty consistent the last couple of weeks about sending us rapid kits,” Goodin said. “For a while there, we were kind of slow on getting kits, if any.”

To schedule an appointment for a rapid test at the health center, go to the center’s Facebook page, web site or call the health center, Goodin said.

“We are happy. We did start COVID vaccinations (Tuesday), we did receive a small amount of Moderna vaccine Monday. We started doing the tier one. which is health care providers with direct patient care. All of the state should be doing that along with long-term health care facilities,” Goodin said.

Long-term health care facilities are more of a federal government project, she said.

“We’re doing patient care, health care providers, so that’s private practices: dentists, orthodontists, pharmacists,” Goodin said. “We’re taking care of those, so we’ve reached out to everybody in Butler County and getting them in for an appointment. ... We’ll continue on next week until we don’t have any more vaccines left. We did request more however.”

Like PBRMC and the health center, Rushin said, the Boys and Girls Club is ending the year on a positive note.

“Enrollment continues to go up,” Rushin said. “Also, attendance continues to go up. I would like to thank the community, we’ve had a lot of people come out in the last four to six weeks that have recommitted to the mission of the Boys and Girls Club or became a partner in the mission of the Boys and Girls Club.”

Rushin is pleased with how R-I Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill, Chartwells, Poplar Bluff Director of Transportation Ronnie Martin and Myers have worked together for the club and the school.

“We are very blessed to know a vaccine is available to us now and soon everyone will hopefully have access to that vaccine,” Rushin said. “Getting back into school was so vital for all of our kids. Not just the educational component, but to their healthy well being. That has taken a tremendous amount of work from everybody in the system.”

Stucker thanked Goodin and Craft.

“We appreciate you guys very much throughout this deal,” he said. “I’ve called you both on different mornings with people exposed and you’ve gotten them tested very quickly. We’ve either sent them home or been able to get them back on duty, and not compromise our staff. So we appreciate you guys very much.”

Winters explained he came into the middle of this pandemic in July after Mark Massingham retired.

“Fortunately, he let me attend some of your meetings prior to that,” Winters said. “I will reiterate what’s already been said, the partnerships and cooperation among the people who have been involved in this from the health department to the hospital to you, Robbie, keeping this all organized and keeping us all connected, it is appreciated. I think it shows what a great community we live in when we have the ability to come together as different agencies. I think sometimes you see other places struggle, want to compete and butt heads and I feel one thing I’ve got to witness is how much cooperation we have between the city and the county, the health department, the private industries like the hospital.”