THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports active coronavirus cases move above 400
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 50 new COVID-19 cases from Wednesday.
There are currently 410 active cases in the county and 26,174 cases since the pandemic began. The county reported 25,589 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 up 25.6% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has an 8.5% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).
The health department's hospital status is yellow with 58 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 14 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 58 patients, 17 are in intensive care and eight are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 107,681 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 95,546 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 59.7%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 62.8%.
Boone County is third in the state with a reported 52.9% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 55.3% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 57.9% of the population fully vaccinated.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 51.9%. Callaway County is third with 47.5%.
The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.
The district reported a 24.3 14-day rate per 10,000 for Monday.
CPS reports eight district facilities (four elementary schools, one middle school and three district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There are two staff members at elementary schools, one middle school staff member and one high school staff member. The district has three staff members at elementary schools and one staff member at a district-wide facility currently quarantined because of COVID.
The district reports 32 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. All of the elementary schools and middle schools, three high schools and one district-wide facility are affected.
There are 48 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 31 students in elementary, seven students in middle school and nine students in high school and one student at a district-wide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.
There are 327 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 224 elementary students are currently quarantining, 67 students in middle school, 11 students in high school and 25 students at district-wide facilities.
Cole County reports 21 new coronavirus cases; Jefferson City School District report 12 active cases in students
The Cole County Health Department reported 21 new coronavirus cases from Tuesday.
According to the dashboard update, there are 11,609 residential cases and 286 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,895 total cases in the county.
Cole County reported 166 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
Cole County ranks 25th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 27.6% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported an 11.3% positivity test rate, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 51.9% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 47.4% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
The Jefferson City School District reported five new coronavirus cases in a student and no new cases in staff members from Wednesday.
The district is reporting 12 active cases in students and three active cases in staff.
The district is reporting 95 close contacts for students and four close contacts for staff.
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services adds breakthrough infection data COVID-19 dashboard
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) statewide COVID-19 dashboard is publishing new data that it finds from “breakthrough infections.”
DHSS reports the vaccine remains a strong defense against the virus, and that older age and health co-morbidities are strongly correlated with the “breakthrough infections.”
According to the DHSS and the Missouri Hospital Association's (MHA) research, residents infected with the coronavirus after being fully vaccinated is termed a breakthrough infection and is still relatively rare. Among those who have been fully vaccinated, just 2% went on to develop an infection upon exposure, based on data reported to DHSS. And among the fully vaccinated Missourians, 0.02% died from COVID-19.
“This data reaffirms what we have been saying for nearly a year. COVID vaccines work very well to prevent hospitalizations and death,” said Donald Kauerauf, director of DHSS said in a release. “The vaccines continue to be an effective tool to protect Missourians from serious illness. This new data being released by DHSS also highlights the importance of receiving boosters when eligible, especially for those of higher risk due to age or health concerns who may not have as strong of an immune response following vaccinations.”
More than 6,300 individuals have tested positive for the virus, recovered and then tested positive again more than 90 days later.
“Where breakthrough is occurring and resulting in hospitalization or death, it is largely among individuals who — through a combination of age and illness — are more likely to have poor immune response or are susceptible from compromised overall health. This new information is yet another validation that vaccination is essential, and further indicates that continued precautions to avoid infection should be taken,” said Jon D. Doolittle, MHA President and CEO.
Missouri reports more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported Thursday more than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19.
According to the state health department, PCR testing found 1,549 new coronavirus cases. That's above Missouri's daily average of 1,012 cases for the testing method.
Data from DHSS shows antigen testing found 518 new probable cases of the virus. The daily average for the testing method in Missouri is 336 probable cases.
The state's seven-day positivity rate increased Thursday from 8.7% on Wednesday to 8.9%. Missouri's positivity rate has increased since reaching 6.4% on Oct. 28.
There were four new COVID-19 related deaths over the last 24 hours, according to DHSS. Since the start of the pandemic, 12,427 people in Missouri have died from virus-related causes.
The state health department reported 1,006 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those patients, 149 are on ventilators.
More than 3.4 million Missourians have started the process to get vaccinated against COVID-19. That's 57% of Missouri's population.
