Local hospitals reporting more COVID-19 hospitalizations as transmission rates spike in northern Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Hospitals in Mid-Missouri are reporting a small increase in people battling COVID-19, as transmission rates go up and vaccinations continue to decline.
According to the Columbia/Boone County Health Department, 30 people were dealing with COVID-19 infections in hospitals. Of those, 18 are in the ICU, and nine are on ventilators.
Only four of those are Boone County residents.
According to the Missouri Hospital Association, Putnam, Livingston and Linn counties in north-central Missouri hold the first, second and fourth highest rates of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the entire country. On average, there were 5.3 new cases per 100,000 residents in the U.S. last week, while in Putnam County the rate was 127.8. This is more than 24 times the national average.
MHA attributed the rise in case partially to the Delta variant found in the area and celebrations like Mother's Day and Graduations. Spokesman Dave Dillon said a big part of the spike in cases to vaccine hesitancy in more rural areas of the state.
"If you look at the counties that are experiencing this spike, they have extremely low vaccination rates," Dillon said. "So, there is a very easy way to avoid this challenge, and/or another peak in the state."
Dillon said right now there is no threat to the availability of beds, as the state has plenty.
"But it still could cost lives, and that's just unnecessary," Dillion said.
He said it's likely that these higher spikes in cases in northern Missouri are starting to fill Mid-Missouri's hospitals. MU Health Care's Associate Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Wakefield said it's in the system's mission to serve those populations.
"For COVID-19 pneumonia, patients are referred from outlying facilities that do not have the capability to care for those patients all of the time," Wakefield said.
Right now, MU Health has 15 patients dealing with COVID-19. Dr. Wakefield said that the yellow status in Boone County is just a communication to the community things are trending up, but there is no imminent danger to the system's capacity.
Wakefield also said that since Boone County continues to lead the state in vaccinations, fewer residents are being admitted to the hospital with infections.
"Vaccination is critically important to decreasing periodic surges of patients," Wakefield said. "It does not appear that COVID-19 will go away, and there will be new variants that may increase the infectiousness of the disease, and this may partially explain the increasing counts in North-Central Missouri for example, where there has been different variants detected."
SSM Health St. Mary's in Jefferson City is reporting a small increase in hospitalizations as COVID-19 transmission rates move to moderate in the area.
Vice President of Medical Affairs Dr. Lenora Adams said the amount of people coming forward to get the vaccinated is
"We have moderate transmission in the community, I see people out enjoying the summer, enjoying socialization, and they should do that, just keep doing those safe behaviors, social distance, try to stay outdoors, and just keep everyone safe so we can have a wonderful summer.
While MU Health Care and SSM Health St. Mary's said there aren't enough people in local hospitals to get a solid age demographic, Dillon said the average age of those hospitalized is going down to people in their 40's and 50's.
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