Monongalia County Health Department no longer offering COVID-19 testing, vaccines at West Virginia University Rec Center

COVID vaccines will be given via appointments made at MCHD Clinical Services by either going online at monchd.org and clicking on the COVID Vaccine Scheduling button at the top of the home page, or by calling 304-598-5119.

“This is the natural transition from the pandemic to an endemic virus,” Anthony DeFelice, MCHD’s executive director, said in a release.

Jamie Moore, program manager of MCHD Threat Preparedness, and Jennifer Goldcamp, director of nursing at MCHD Clinical Services, both agreed that it makes sense for these services to be absorbed by the health department as a response to the shift to the endemic stage of COVID-19, which means that it is expected that the virus is here to stay.

“It doesn’t mean it’s not spreading,” Moore, said in a release. “It means it will probably always be spreading in our community.”

In an endemic, there might be more localized outbreaks of COVID-19 in a community rather than a larger, nationwide situation, Moore added.

“If you are getting tested, you can help protect the ones you love from getting ill,” Moore said in a release.

In addition to COVID vaccine appointments at the Monongalia County Health Department, there also will be pop-up clinics in the community to provide more opportunities for citizens to get their first and second doses of Moderna (ages 18 and up) or Pfizer (ages 5 and up) as well as boosters.

“We want to keep the severity of COVID at bay, so getting COVID vaccines will help keep you out of the hospital and from having severe illness,” Goldcamp said in a release.

Current pop-up clinics include:

• Five locations from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 7, during Save a Life Day: McDonald’s at Sabraton and Westover; WVU Mountainlair; Woodland United
• Methodist Church on the Mileground and Hotel M on Saratoga Avenue
• Morgantown Farmers Market, 8-10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 14
• Christian Help, 1-3 p.m. Monday, May 16
• Two at Morgantown Municipal Airport this month, from 4 to 6 p.m. both days on Wednesday, May 18 and Wednesday, May 25. These will be drive-through clinics.
• Sabraton United Methodist Church, 1234 Richwood Ave., from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, May 19.

In addition to COVID vaccines, individuals also can learn how to use naloxone, which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

An updated testing and vaccine pop-up clinic schedule can be found on MCHD’s social media pages, which includes Facebook and Twitter (@WVMCHD) and Instagram (#wvmchd). The schedule is pinned to the top of the Facebook page, and also can be found at monchd.org and at monchd.org/testingandvaccines.html.

When individuals come to the health department for testing on Mondays and Thursdays, they should park at the lower level of the building. There will be a sign on the door on the right, which is usually locked to non-employees, to direct them where to go.

For vaccines, individuals should go to the upper level of the health department and enter at the main entrance in the center. They will walk through a temperature scanner and then go to their vaccine appointment.

Also, noted Goldcamp, individuals with mobility issues can be accommodated when they get their vaccines at MCHD Clinical Services. “They can call to request a vaccine in their car,” she said.