

We know you want to stay safe and keep your family safe, and part of that involves ensuring you have the information you need to make an informed decision. Many people have questions about the vaccine, and some people who are opposed to it have spread misinformation intended to frighten others. Our goal has always been to keep the people in our county safe and healthy, and that is especially true in this challenging time. For more COVID-19 information, see the button below.
Para información sobre la vacuna de COVID-19, viste https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/ y haga clic en el menú desplegable titulado “Translate” y seleccione “Spanish”.
We know you want to stay safe and keep your family safe, and part of that involves ensuring you have the information you need to make an informed decision. Many people have questions about the vaccine, and some people who are opposed to it have spread misinformation intended to frighten others. Our goal has always been to keep the people in our county safe and healthy, and that is especially true in this challenging time. For more COVID-19 information, see the button below.

Contents
How to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment
As of April 9, the COVID-19 vaccine is available for everyone.
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services will post any open COVID-19 vaccine appointments online. Appointments are required and available only for those who are eligible and live or work in Boone County. To schedule an appointment, click the button below.
Other places to get a COVID vaccine
Pre-Registration: http://bit.ly/37ykNEB
Call: (877) 435-8411
Call Center hours are 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. Mon – Fri; 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Sat; and closed on Sun
Mass Vaccination Event Listings: https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/events/
- Depending on the vaccination event that is chosen, it may be through invite only. Other events are available with an account on the Navigator website. If the event you’re interested in is not listed on the scheduling page, you may call the hotline and provide your patient ID number (from your pre-registration confirmation email) and ask for booking assistance.
https://www.facebook.com/CompassHealthNetwork/
https://compasshealthnetwork.org/
Call: 844-853-8937
Location: 3501 Berrywood Dr. Columbia, MO 65201
Process: Sign up online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4da9ab29a2fcc70-0401212
- Tend to add new clinics on Friday mornings/afternoons
- Determine eligibility, select time slot, fill out personal information and health information.
Appointments are available online at http://bit.ly/3khWakI
Hy-Vee is a Federal Retail Pharmacy Partner. Check frequently as appointments are added as supply allows.
Process: Select your location; Confirm eligibility; Select which dose you are receiving (first or second); Schedule your appointment with the available time slots; Fill out personal information and health questions.
Locations to search:
- 3100 W Broadway Columbia, MO 65203
- 405 E Nifong Columbia, MO 65203
- 25 Conley Rd. Columbia, MO 65201
Appointments are available online at www.samsclub.com/covid.
Call: (573) 875-1095
Location: 101 Conley Road, Columbia, MO 65201
Process: Go to the website; Confirm your eligibility; Sign in either as a member or through guest account; Select appointment time
Appointments are available online at http://bit.ly/3dtU6Ve
Best time to book: Midnight
Appointments are shown for the following week. At midnight each night a new day of appointments is added. You must have a Walmart account to register. There is a statewide list of locations here: https://bit.ly/3khIlTr.
Locations:
- 415 Conley Rd, Columbia, MO 65201
- 3001 W Broadway, Columbia, MO 65203
- 1201 Grindstone Pkwy, Columbia, MO 65201
Phone: (573) 777-7333
Appointments are available online at https://www.dhcovid.com/
- Appointments are released each day, Sunday-Thursday.
- For the week of March 29, D&H will be supplying the Moderna vaccine. This could be subject to change in later weeks.
Location: 1001 W Broadway, Columbia, MO 65203
Location/Phone :
- 700 N Providence Rd #4373 Columbia, MO 65201 – (573) 442-0194;
- 1608 Chapel Hill Rd. Columbia, MO 65203 – (573) 447-4444
Appointments are available online at https://kilgoresrx.com/covid-vaccine/
- Second dose is automatically scheduled 28 days from the first appointment at the same time.
- All appointments are for the Moderna vaccine.
Call: (573) 682-2155
Location: 105 S Allen St, Centralia, MO 65240
Process: Call in only. They will help you schedule an appointment based on availability. Second appointment is also scheduled at the time of making the first appointment.
Call: (573) 449-5366
- Sign up through phone call only. You will be added to a waitlist.
Location: 1506 E Broadway, Columbia, MO 65201

Trauma Acknowledgment and Commitment to Equity
This has been an especially stressful and painful year. The loss of loved ones, jobs, businesses, homes, and livelihoods has been a heavy weight for us all. Many of us have also suffered from years of inequity, biased treatment, and lack of access. These experiences have reinforced cycles of trauma and created a lack of trust in government and health care.
The decision to vaccinate or not is a very personal one. We know the stories and believe those who have historically experienced discriminatory treatment. We keep these important truths at the center of the work we are doing to educate and gather information from the community on vaccination.
Our health department believes that everyone should have the opportunity to be as safe and healthy as possible. This means we must pay particular attention to the communities who are most at risk for COVID-19 and have less access to the support they need to stay healthy. We know that Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and other communities of color, are at risk for exposure to COVID-19 — and suffer poorer health outcomes if they get it. Many of our essential workers who keep our community running are from these same communities. The COVID-19 vaccines offer an important opportunity to support and protect those who have been and stand to be most harmed by COVID-19. We know this is only part of the solution. We must also commit to addressing the social factors that affect our health and that will reduce inequities in health outcomes.
Because of our commitment to the health and safety of our community, we want to give you the most up-to-date information. We want to listen to everyone and get your concerns and recommendations. We want to build relationships that help to heal the trauma of past experiences. We want to work with you to build trust and equitable health outcomes.
What to expect
When you get a COVID-19 vaccine you should expect:
- You may need two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, depending on which vaccine you get. If receiving a two dose vaccine such as Pfizer or Moderna, be sure to plan for two appointments, several weeks apart.
- Before getting the shot, you will be told about the benefits and risks of the COVID-19 vaccine. You have the right to accept or refuse the vaccine based on the information you receive.
- The vaccines are safe and effective. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the vaccines.
- You may experience side effects which are typical of a normal immune response to any vaccine including fever, headaches, and muscle aches.
- The vaccine is free with or without health insurance.

Vaccine FAQ
As of April 9, all Missouri residents are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Refer to the list above to make your appointment.
The federal government of the United States requested pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution, and Missouri is following this recommendation as well.
Six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals occurred after receiving the J&J vaccine. These adverse events appear to be extremely rare. Nearly 7 million people in the United States have received Johnson & Johnson shots so far, and six individuals have developed this rare disorder. All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.
Read more at https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/facts/#j&j-pause
Yes. Vaccines have to pass extensive trials and meet rigorous safety and effectiveness standards before they are widely distributed. Both COVID-19 vaccines were studied in tens of thousands of people, the study results were reviewed by independent advisory committees, and these committees then gave advice on who should receive the vaccine. Finally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviewed all of this information to determine if the benefits outweigh the risks, and gave authorization for the vaccines to be used.
Although the COVID-19 vaccines were developed in record time, that’s because the global scientific community has focused their efforts on combating COVID-19, not because they’ve cut any corners. Researchers were also able to use existing science and technology, which made it possible to develop vaccines faster than any methods previously used.
Vaccines teach your body’s immune system how to fight an invader, generally by introducing something that helps the body recognize the virus in the future. When your body responds to the vaccine, it learns how to fight that illness so that the next time you encounter it, your body is prepared to fight it off without making you terribly sick.
In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, the first two authorized vaccines draw on decades of research and results with mRNA (messenger RNA) technology.You’ve seen lots of images of the coronavirus, with those characteristic spikes. These vaccines use mRNA to teach your body to recognize those spikes and to fight off the virus.
As with most vaccines, you may experience some mild side effects after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. You might not feel great the next day — or even a few days — and may have soreness in your arm, a mild fever, chills, tiredness, headache, and nausea or diarrhea. It may feel like you have the flu, and it may disrupt some of your normal daily activities. None of that is fun, but these side effects are normal signs that the vaccine is working. Neither of the COVID-19 vaccines have been found to have any severe side effects.
Because we don’t know yet how long natural immunity lasts after recovering from COVID-19, you should plan to get vaccinated.
The vaccines’ clinical trials show that the vaccines are safe for people with all kinds of conditions, including those who are immuno-compromised, have heart conditions, diabetes, cancer, and many others. In fact, because these put you at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, it is particularly important that you get vaccinated. Talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner if you have questions about whether you should get vaccinated for COVID-19.
Though the mRNA technology used in the vaccine is known to be safe and effective for people who are pregnant or lactating, none of the COVID-19 vaccine trials included people in those groups. If you are pregnant or lactating, talk to your health care provider about the benefits and risks of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccination is not mandatory at this time. It is strongly recommended, but it is not required by federal, state, local, or tribal governments. Private employers, however, may choose to require it of their employees when the vaccine is widely available.
Herd immunity occurs when a high percentage of the community is immune to a disease (through vaccination and/or prior illness), making the spread of this disease from person to person unlikely. Herd immunity protects the most vulnerable members of our population. If enough people are vaccinated against dangerous diseases, those who are susceptible and cannot get vaccinated are protected because the germ will not be able to “find” those susceptible individuals.
The percentage of people who need to have protection in order to achieve herd immunity varies by disease, and experts don’t know yet what percentage of people would need to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity to COVID-19.
Yes, you can get vaccinated in Boone County even if you do not live in Boone County. Our department is focused on vaccinating eligible people who work or live in Boone County, but we know that a lot of people come to Boone County for medical care. In that case, we encourage you to talk to your healthcare provider once vaccines become available for the group you fall in to.
No. Every day, a healthy immune system successfully fights off thousands of germs. Antigens are parts of germs that cause the body’s immune system to go to work to build antibodies, which fight off diseases. The antigens in vaccines come from the germs themselves, but the germs are weakened or killed so they cannot cause serious illness. Even if people receive several vaccinations in one day, vaccines contain only a tiny fraction of the antigens they encounter every day in their environment. Vaccines stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies to fight off serious vaccine-preventable diseases.
Three of the four most advanced COVID-19 vaccines use two doses. The Pfizer vaccine doses should be administered 21 days apart. The Moderna vaccine doses should be administered 28 days apart.
It is important that patients return for the second dose to develop the highest level of protection from SARS-CoV-2. Patients who do not receive the second Pfizer vaccination dose at 21 days or the Moderna vaccination at 28 days should still receive that second dose as soon as possible thereafter.
Yes, patients must receive the same vaccine for both the first and second doses. Your vaccination provider will give you a vaccine card stating the manufacturer name and other critical information you will need for a second dose.
There is no definitive data on how long immunity will last with a vaccine. A COVID-19 vaccine will trigger an immune system response to develop active immunity. Active immunity results when exposure to a disease organism triggers the immune system to produce antibodies to that disease. If an immune person comes into contact with that disease in the future, their immune system will recognize it and immediately produce the antibodies needed to fight it. Although we don’t know exactly how long immunity will last for the specific vaccines in trial, active immunity can be long-lasting.
You should delay your vaccination if you have had a known SARS-CoV-2 (virus that causes COVID-19) exposure until your quarantine period has ended, unless residing in a congregate setting (health care/long-term care facility, correctional facility, homeless shelter, etc.).