WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Nearly 25 percent of Boone County has received first coronavirus vaccine shot
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 22 new COVID-19 cases. There are currently 99 active cases in the county, an increase of 12 from Tuesday.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 17,728.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 17,546, an increase of 10 from Tuesday.
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported the latest five-day average as 14.
The dashboard is reporting the positivity rate of 10.3% for the week of Feb. 26 through March 4. The new positivity rate posted is 11% for the week of March 4 through last Thursday.
The county continues to trend down as there have been 49 straight days of single or double-digit case increases.
The health department is reporting the total number of hospitalizations in Boone County is 26.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is reported to be four.
The dashboard is reporting nine COVID-19 patients in the ICU and four patients on ventilators.
The hospital status remains in 'Green' status. 'Green' status is when hospitals are operating within licensed bed capacity; accepting patient transfers from referring hospitals within standard care operating procedures.
The State of Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 43,564 residents have received their first dose in Boone County.
The county has the largest percentage of people in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 24.1%.
Saline County has the second largest with 22.8% of the population have received the first dose of the vaccine. Cole County has the third-highest percentage at 22.3%.
20% of Missourians start coronavirus vaccination
As of Wednesday morning, one in five state residents has started the coronavirus vaccination process.
More than 1.2 million Missourians have received at least one dose of a two-dose vaccine or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services dashboard said.
The dashboard included that about half as many people have completed vaccination.
Missouri is closing in on 2 million vaccine doses administered. The state has scheduled mass vaccination clinics through early April.
More than half of the state's elderly population, residents 65 and older, have initiated vaccination. The data included that one in four Missourians who are 55-64 years old have also started vaccination.
Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday a mega vaccination site will open at the St. Louis Community College location at Forest Park next week. It will be the second such site offering vaccinations for thousands of state residents. Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City will hold a two-day mega vaccination event starting on Friday.
Parson said in a tweet as many as 14,000 state residents around the St. Louis area will be able to get vaccinated over a three-day period starting next Tuesday.
Vaccinations have ramped up in the state since vaccines became available in late 2020. On average, more than 31,000 state residents have been vaccinated over the week ending on Sunday.
According to the dashboard, vaccinations increase going into the weekend. The state schedules many vaccine events between Thursday and Saturday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 111 million total vaccine doses have been administered across the nation. Data included that 142 million doses have been delivered to the US.
In the midwest, Missouri's vaccination rate per 100,000 residents was slightly lower compared to neighboring states. The CDC said Iowa and Nebraska were vaccinating about 36,000 people a day, Illinois' rate was reported around 34,000. Kansas' rate was similar to Missouri's at about 31,000.
Health officials reported on the dashboard 407 new COVID-19 cases through PCR testing. In all, 484,531 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state since the pandemic started.
The latest data available said 8,358 Missourians have died from the coronavirus, an increase of eight from the day before.
Statewide antigen testing neared 1 million on Wednesday. Health officials have reported more than 83,000 probable COVID-19 cases through the testing.
According to the FDA website, antigen tests show results quicker than PCR tests -- some results come back in 15 minutes. Federal officials said the positive tests are "highly accurate," but false results are possible.
For the third day in a row, Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate was reported at 4.5%. The rate has fallen over the last two months from more than 20% reported in early January.
