St. Lawrence County hosting four COVID vaccine pop-up clinics this week

Ellis Giacomelli, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read

Apr. 27—CANTON — Shifting from COVID-19 vaccination hubs with hundreds of appointments scheduled, the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department is launching a series of smaller pop-up clinics in the county's more remote areas.

This week's pop-up clinics are scheduled for Thursday and Friday at four fire departments: from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday at the Brier Hill Fire Department, 2680 Route 37; 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hammond Fire Department, 300 Lake St.; 2 to 4 p.m. Friday at the Gouverneur Fire Department, 1035 Route 11; and 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Heuvelton Fire Department, 95 N. State St.

About 20 time slots are available at each pop-up clinic, and appointments are recommended but not required. Online registration links are posted to the Public Health Department website, at stlawco.org/covid-19-daily-update-center-pods.

Vaccine registration for walk-ins will be completed on site. The county's vaccine supply is exclusively Moderna, and eligible recipients — all New Yorkers 18 and older — should be available for a second shot 28 days after the first.

The department is also promoting a new social media campaign to encourage vaccination, in line with its masking initiative launched last summer. Poster templates that read "I wear a mask to protect..." are now complemented by templates that read "I got my COVID-19 vaccine because..."

Blank posters can be downloaded from the Public Health Department website.

As of Monday morning, roughly 42.4% of St. Lawrence County's 108,047 residents have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the state Department of Health. That figure reflects a one percentage point increase from Friday.

Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines require two shots, and more than 39,000 people living in the county have so far completed a vaccine series, the state DOH reports.

For the north country region — grouped as Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, Essex and Hamilton counties for COVID tracking — 41.8% of the total 418,971 population has received at least one vaccine. More than 146,000 people have completed a vaccine series as of Monday morning, an increase of about 4,000 from Friday.

Statewide, roughly 8.8 million people, or about 44.3% of the total population, have received at least one shot.

Check for vaccine appointment availability at SUNY Potsdam's state-run site at am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov.

The county circulates a regular clinic update, which you can receive via email by filling out a contact list form on the Public Health Department website.

Older adults needing assistance scheduling vaccine appointments can call the county Office for the Aging at 315-386-4730. St. Lawrence County Public Transit is offering route deviations to bring riders to COVID-19 vaccination sites. Maps and schedules are viewable at slcnypublictransit.com.

The Public Health Department is also available to assist with registration and answer questions at 315-386-2325, or SLCCOVID19SharedMailbox@stlawco.org.