THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports largest number of new coronavirus cases in two weeks

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 48 new COVID-19 cases from Wednesday. There are currently 232 active cases in the county and a total of 25,681 cases since the pandemic began.

The county reported 25,253 cases removed from isolation.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 25.9% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 6.1% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 42 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 12 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 42 patients, 11 are in intensive care and seven are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 104,742 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 94,894 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses.

Boone County has the third-largest percentage of county residents in Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 58%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 60.6%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 52.6% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 54.4% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 57.4% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 51.1%. Callaway County is third with 46.6%.

The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.

The district reported a 19.8 14-day rate per 10,000 for Wednesday.

CPS reports seven district facilities (three elementary schools, two middle schools and two district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There are four staff members at elementary schools, one staff member at a middle school and two staff members at a district-wide facility. The district has one staff member at a middle school, one staff member at a high school and three staff members at a district-wide facility currently quarantined because of COVID.

The district reports 27 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 17 out of 21 elementary, all of the middle schools, three high schools affected.

There are 27 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 15 students in elementary, 11 students in middle school, and one student in high school have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 129 students which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 59 elementary students are currently quarantining, 61 students in middle school, nine students in high school and one at other district-wide facilities.

Cole County reports 14 new coronavirus cases after two days of large backlog increases

The Cole County Health Department reported 14 new coronavirus cases from Tuesday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 11,363 residential cases and 286 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,649 total cases in the county.

Cole County reported 165 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks 13th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 12.4% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 9.1% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 51.1% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 46.9% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

County health departments preparing to vaccinate five to 11-year-olds

Multiple county health departments are preparing to help vaccinate five to 11-year-olds after the US Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children that age..

The Cooper County Public Health Center reported a COVID-19 Vaccine Walk-in clinic until 7 p.m. today. Ages 5 and up at Central Missouri Community Action - Cooper and Howard County. The organization will be closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.

The Osage County Health Department will be offering Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 and up at our walk-in clinic every Friday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. limited supply for those aged 5-11. Beginning Thursday, anyone can call to reserve your child's dose.

The Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) reported the organization has not received Pfizer vaccine doses for the 5 to 11 age group.

PHHS plans to begin school-based COVID-19 vaccination clinics the week of Nov. 15 at some Boone County schools. This includes participating public elementary schools, middle schools and high schools in Boone County along with participating private schools. Parental consent forms are required for anyone under the age of 18 to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 

PHHS will have appointment-only COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the office, 1005 W. Worley St., on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Appointments are required and can be scheduled here: CoMo.gov/Health/Covid19-Vaccine-Appointments. Vaccines are free and do not require health insurance. 

Fewer than 1,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Missouri

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported Thursday fewer than 1,000 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19.

According to DHSS, hospitals across the state reported 984 people are being treated for the virus. Data from the state health department showed 166 patients are on ventilators.

Missouri reported Thursday more than 1,180 new coronavirus cases.

According to the state health department, 856 people tested positive for COVID-19 using PCR tests. That's above Missouri's daily average of 683 cases for the testing method.

Another 325 new probable cases of the virus were found using antigen tests. That's also above the daily average in Missouri of 217 cases for the testing method.

The statewide seven-day positivity remained unchanged from the previous day at 6.6%.

Missouri added one new virus-related over the last 24 hours. The state health department reports 12,213 people have died from COVID-19 related causes.

More than 3.4 million Missourians have started the coronavirus vaccination process.

That's 55.5% of Missouri's population.