ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Two Belmont County agencies are partnering to help more people get vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible.

Vaccines will be administered to senior citizens next week, with the health department expected to be able to provide doses for 400 people and the pharmacies at Kroger in Bellaire and St. Clairsville and at WVU Medicine Barnesville Hospital expected to have about 100 doses each. Plans are coming together to allow eligible residents to register for the shots.

The Belmont County Emergency Management Agency is working with the county health department, the EMA announced Thursday.

Following plans laid out by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, the agencies are preparing to vaccinate people in stages by age, beginning with Ohioans age 80 and older.

The task is proving onerous in Belmont County, where more than 40 percent of residents are 65 and older. These, however, are statistically the most vulnerable to the illness.

EMA Director David Ivan said the county health department will use the Code Red notification system to contact the first 400 eligible people 80 and older who have pre-registered. They will receive a call from 855-969-4636 that will give them the location and their appointment time.

“The first 400 that’s on the list, they’ll get that message telling them where to go, because we’ve only got 400 doses and we don’t want 1,000 people showing up,” Ivan said.

Belmont County Deputy Health Commissioner Robert Sproul said via text message that his office is completing work on an online registration page on the health department website, belmontcountyhealth.com.

Sproul said his office is also working on providing transportation to vaccination sites for those seniors who need it. Those who receive a vaccine must also have a second dose in about 28 days.

“The big thing is, people are going to have to be patient,” Ivan said. “We can only do so much with what we’re getting.”

The Kroger pharmacies are encouraging customers to visit kroger.com/ohiocovidvaccine or to call the COVID-19 vaccine helpline at 866-211-5320 for the latest information on vaccine availability in the area. With doses arriving next week, the helpline will be active beginning Saturday. All vaccinations will require an appointment.

WVU Medicine Barnesville Hospital will be conducting a two-day community vaccination clinic on site Jan. 21-22. Those 80 and older can call 740-425-5255 for an appointment.

Those 75 and older will be eligible Jan. 25, followed by people 70 and older. Ohioans with severe congenital, developmental or early-onset medical disorders will be eligible for vaccination Jan. 25.

According to the latest report from Sproul, Belmont County has had a total of 4,406 positive cases since the pandemic’s onset, with 818 people in isolation at home with active cases. There have been 3,471 recoveries, 34 people are hospitalized, and 83 people have died after becoming infected.