by Sarah ThomackSt. Joseph PostThe St. Joseph Health Department will begin limited in-person services next week.Starting July 7th, the health department will begin offering primarily immunization services with COVID-19 safety guidelines in place. Stephanie Malita with the Health Department says anyone with questions about guidelines and what in-person services they are offering can call their clinic first.“It’s probably going to change again within the next few weeks. We’re going to try immunizations like this and we’ll listen to feedback from our clients and we’ll see how the flow goes. It’s going to be very different this year though,” Malita says. “Typically, people are able to wait in our waiting room, but we don’t want to put people in that position where they’re within six feet of others in an enclosed space and our lobby is not that big.”Malita says after an initial check-in for an immunization, staff will ask for a phone number and the client will wait in their car until they receive a call that it's their turn.Priority will be given to preschool, kindergarten, 8th and 12th grade students through August to help families meet the immunization regulations for school entry.All scheduling will take place on-site and will be available from 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. Malita says parents must bring their child's immunization record with them if they're not in the ShowMeVax system.“ShowMeVax is a statewide system, it’s a confidential system, not everybody has access to it but doctor’s offices do and school nurses do so they can look up your record and make sure that your kid’s got the shots they need to have,” Malita says.The St. Joseph Health Department can be reached at (816) 271-4636.

St. Joseph Health Dept. to begin limited in-person services July 7th