TUESDAY UPDATES: Cole County provides community with latest information
The director of the Cole County Health Department Kirsti Campbell provided a COVID-19 update.
She says hospitalizations in the county have dropped to their lowest point in several weeks.
Officials say residents should call their doctors first about getting the vaccine.
According to Campbell, vaccine availability is currently low but more are expected in the coming days.
The city says they plan to hold mass vaccination events when more supply becomes available.
There is a free testing event tomorrow at Community Health Center of Central MO tomorrow at American Legion.
Cole County looks to EMS to possibly help vaccinate high-risk individuals inside their homes
Paramedics in Cole County could begin administering coronavirus vaccines.
Today the Cole County Commission approved an emergency purchase of up to $6,000 in CARES Act funding for Cole County EMSto buy an ultra-cold freezer.
It will be used to store coronavirus vaccines.
The goal is to vaccinate high-risk individuals inside their homes.
Cole County EMS says they are still waiting for the state's approval.
Mid-Missouri counties report COVID-19 related deaths after three-day weekend
Mid-Missouri counties updated their COVID-19 dashboard information after a three-day weekend revealing 11 coronavirus related deaths in six counties.
The Audrain County Health Department is reporting five new COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the total up 50.
The health department reports 15 new total cases, with a new total of 1,624 since the pandemic began. There are currently 87 active cases.
The Randolph County Health Department is reporting one coronavirus death making it the 29th COVID-19 related death overall.
The county is reporting 1,893 total cases and 95 active cases overall.
In Howard County, the public health department is reporting it's 5th COVID-19 related death.
The county has 38 active cases currently and 996 total cases since March.
The Callaway County Health Department is reporting one coronavirus related death. This is the 34th overall death.
The county has reported 394 active cases, a drop of 17 from the last time the county reported cases last week.
The health department has recorded a total of 3,521 residents that reported having COVID-19.
The Chariton County Health Center is reporting one coronavirus death and 17th overall.
The county has 54 active cases and 764 total cases.
In Osage County, the health department is reporting two COVID-19 related deaths. This marks the 11th COVID-19 death overall.
The county has reported 1,494 total cases and 50 active cases currently.
BJC HealthCare begins online survey to help with vaccinating residents in Phase 1B Tier 2
BJC HealthCare is asking residents to take an online survey so they plan to vaccinate those in Phase 1B.
The State of Missouri announced the second phase of its COVID-19 vaccine plans. The second phase includes Tier 1 - first responders, emergency services and public health infrastructure and Tier 2 - protecting those who are at increased risk for severe illness.
BJC, Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services and Washington University are working together to help with the plan
To find out if you are eligible, complete the preregistration form if you are interested in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Missouri DHSS adds 156 COVID-19 related deaths to state dashboard after holiday delay
Missouri DHSS has added 156 COVID-19 related deaths after state’s disease surveillance system analyzed several death certificates.
Officials say the deaths will be captured and reported publicly through the dashboard.
Officials report that seven of these deaths occurred in November, 109 occurred in December, and 40 occurred earlier in January.
The weekly death update has been occurring since September and typically causes a sharp increase in the deaths added to Missouri’s total the following day.
Officials say the state does not track probable or pending deaths.
More than 6,200 Missouri residents have died from complications of COVID-19 since the pandemic started, according to the state's coronavirus dashboard.
Boone County reports two new COVID-19 deaths; active cases drops below 700
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting two new coronavirus related deaths.
This is the 67th COVID-19 related death since March 18. The individuals were in the 75-79 and 80+ age group. This is the ninth COVID-19 related death this year.
The health department is reporting 114 new COVID-19 cases.
The dashboard is currently reporting 692 active cases.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 15,710.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 14,951.
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported the latest five-day average as 82.
The dashboard is reporting the positivity rate of 28.7 for Jan. 8 through last Thursday.
The health department is reporting the total number of hospitalizations in Boone County is 95.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is reported to be 39.
The dashboard is reporting 21 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and 9 patients on ventilators.
The hospital status is still currently in the 'yellow' zone.
MU Health Care helps residents understand COVID-19 vaccine availability; public vaccinations to be administered at Faurot Field
MU Health Care launched an online portal to help people fill out when the COVID-19 vaccine will be available to them. The survey, which is open to the public, can be accessed at muhealth.org/form/covid-vaccine-survey.
MU Health Care is following Gov. Parson and the state of Missouri’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan.
MU Health Care continues to vaccinate health care workers as part of Phase 1A and is preparing to launch large-scale public vaccination at the Walsworth Columns Club at Faurot Field.
“We are excited to begin vaccinating those in the first tiers of Phase 1B as soon as we receive vaccine doses to do so,” said Stevan Whitt, MD, MU Health Care Chief Clinical Officer. “We have been working on our public vaccination plan for months, and our goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible while following the prioritization set forth by the state of Missouri and our local health department.”
MU Health Care is using the football stadium as a central vaccination site in order to vaccinate large numbers of people while using vaccine and other supplies most efficiently.
“We would like to thank the Mizzou Athletic Department for partnering with us on this important public health initiative,” said Jonathan Curtright, MU Health Care Chief Executive Officer. “This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for: a safe way to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Boone County reports 200 coronavirus cases over long weekend
Boone County logged 201 new coronavirus cases from Saturday through Monday.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services released the numbers Tuesday morning. The department typically gives out weekend case numbers on Mondays but it was closed this week for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The health department said 102 cases were confirmed Saturday, 67 on Sunday and 32 on Monday.
Boone County has now logged nearly 15,600 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began last March. The health department reported 743 active cases, according to the online COVID-19 dashboard. The county has recorded 65 deaths.
The county's five-day average of new daily cases continues to drop from its November peak and was at 78 factoring in the weekend numbers. Boone County's hospitals are treating 100 COVID-19 patients and are reporting a "yellow" status, meaning some procedures remain delayed because of the pandemic.
The county's positivity rate -- the percentage of people tested for coronavirus who get a positive result -- is also falling. The rate reached 28.7% for the week that ended Thursday, a drop of more than six percentage points compared to the week before.
The University of Missouri reported 42 active student cases Tuesday as entry testing for on-campus students continues.
Missouri coronavirus hospitalizations at lowest level since November
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said coronavirus hospitalizations hit the lowest level in months.
The latest data available on the health department's dashboard from Saturday said 2,392 were hospitalized in Missouri because of COVID-19. It's the lowest level of hospitalizations since at least Nov. 10.
On Saturday, the seven-day hospitalizations average was at 2,538. Hospital officials said the average on Jan. 1 was 2,704. Hospitalizations have been reported at or above 2,500 since mid-November and topped at the peak of 2,851 on Nov. 18, according to the dashboard.
The data included ICU stays were at 551. Admissions were down by more than 30 from the day before. The seven-day average on Saturday was reported at 583.7.
Health department officials reported 1,357 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday -- about 400 fewer cases from the weekly average. It brings the pandemic total up to 440,197.
Seven virus-related deaths were also reported on Tuesday bringing the pandemic total up to 6,263.
The health department said Missouri ranked 21st in the country for new COVID-19 deaths over the last week -- 41. The state also ranked 26th in the country for new coronavirus cases over the same time period with 12,089.
The dashboard said the state's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate was slightly lower at 12.7%.
