MU Health Care now shows COVID-19 vaccination status of inpatients in efforts to show vaccine effectiveness
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
MU Health Care decided on Monday to report the number of COVID-19 patients in its hospitals who have been vaccinated. A doctor says the information shows the importance of getting the vaccine to lower the risks of becoming severely ill or dying from the virus.
The organization said it had added the metric to the website where it reports its COVID-19 numbers. On Monday, MU Health Care reported that six of 53 patients were fully vaccinated. One of the 24 patients in intensive care was vaccinated and zero of the 13 patients on ventilators are vaccinated.
"Our data show the majority of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 are unvaccinated," Stevan Whitt, MU Health Care's chief clinical officer, said in the release. "It remains vitally important to get vaccinated, as vaccinations are the best way to protect against severe illness and death due to COVID-19."
The organization said in a news release that adding the number of vaccinated patients increases transparency. Those considered vaccinated are at least two weeks past their second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna two-shot vaccines or after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Lisa Cox, with the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, said the state has plans to move forward soon to provide data on statewide cases and deaths that show vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
"It is extremely powerful to see this data as it shows just how successful the vaccines are at preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19," Cox said.
Dr. Robin Blount with Boone Health said they have no plans of releasing their patient's vaccination status to the public. The hospital does still ask patients their vaccine status. "We use this is something for us to aware of when working with patients in the hospital."
Jessica Royston with SSM Health in Jefferson City said they also have no plans to provide vaccination status information online.
