Responding to Omicron variant

The grip of Covid-19 continued into 2022 with the emergence of Omicron, a highly contagious variant. It was vital to get more tests out in the community to stop the spread. The Department of Public Health (DPH) worked with the St. Louis County Library and other partners to offer free testing. Over the course of the year, more than 35,000 PCR tests were conducted, and another 55,000 at-home antigen tests were distributed. The department also established a telephone number, email, and online form for residents to submit results of the athome antigen tests, which dramatically rose in use through the first half of the year.

In September, DPH added a powerful new weapon in the fight against COVID-19: the bivalent vaccine booster. The updated boosters were specifically designed to fight the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants – the most transmissible versions of the virus, and the most common in St. Louis County. When the original vaccine and booster shots were created, these new variants didn’t exist.

DPH used its communications channels to strongly encourage everyone eligible to get a booster shot, and the initial public response was positive. By year’s end, DPH had administered more than 18,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses, including boosters. Of those doses, nearly 1,000 were administered to infants. These efforts resulted in St. Louis County having fully vaccinated about 65 percent of its residents for COVID-19 – the top percentage in the state. Additionally, Corrections Medicine team members administered 658 COVID-19 vaccinations at the Justice Center in 2022 and helped 91 jail residents apply for Medicaid.