THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone Community hosting COVID-19 vaccine weekend community clinics

There are multiple opportunities for COVID-19 vaccinations this weekend.

Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services has added an additional community vaccination clinic Saturday. The clinic will be at the Hartsburg Lions Club and Sons of the American Legion Fireworks event from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Hartsburg Ball Park at the corner of River Road and South Bush Landing Road in the gazebo.

These clinics will be walk-in based and no appointments are needed. The community clinics listed below will offer both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Saturday, July 17
A Cut Above the Rest Hair Salon
203 N. Providence Road, Columbia
10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 17
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services staff members will be at multiple Show-Me State Games locations on Saturday, July 17. The list of locations and times are below.

• Cosmo Park at the Rainbow Softball Center, 1615 Business Loop 70 W., Columbia - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Cosmo Park entrance, 1615 Business Loop 70 W., Columbia - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Columbia Sports Fieldhouse, 4251 Philips Farm Road, Columbia - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Holiday Inn Executive Center-Columbia Mall Expo Center - 2200 Interstate 70 Dr. SW, Columbia - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday, July 17
Hartsburg Lions Club and Sons of the American Legion Fireworks
Hartsburg Ball Park at the corner of River Road and South Bush Landing Road in the gazebo
3:30-7:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 18
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services staff members will be at multiple Show-Me State Games locations on Sunday, July 18. The list of locations and times are below.

• Cosmo Park at the Rainbow Softball Center, 1615 Business Loop 70 W., Columbia - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Cosmo Park entrance, 1615 Business Loop 70 W., Columbia - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Columbia Sports Fieldhouse, 4251 Philips Farm Road, Columbia - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Vaccines are free and do not require ID or health insurance. Anyone aged 12 or older is eligible for Pfizer. Anyone aged 18 and older is eligible for Johnson & Johnson. Parental consent forms are required for anyone under the age of 18.

Missouri Chamber of Commerce launching new campaign to fight COVID-19

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce is launching a new campaign that will recognize Missouri workplaces that are helping fight against COVID-19.

The COVID Stops Here campaign will celebrate Missouri businesses that have achieved at least a 70% vaccination rate among their staff members.

“The COVID-19 vaccine is Missouri’s pathway to recovery and employers are truly on the front lines of the push to vaccinate our state. We are excited to recognize workplaces across Missouri that are leading on vaccination. Any workplace that has achieved widespread vaccination should be recognized and that’s our goal with the COVID Stops Here campaign,” said Daniel P. Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber.

Organizations that have achieved the 70% threshold are eligible to receive a COVID Stops Here designation.

A recent survey by the Missouri Chamber found that more than 80% of Missouri employers are working to encourage vaccination among their staff members.

“In order to finally put this virus behind us, we need Missourians to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Let’s continue to work together to stop this virus. Let’s make sure that COVID stops here,” said Mehan.

Boone County active cases jump above 500

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 93 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, continuing a streak of increasing infections in recent weeks.

There are currently 523 active cases in the county, an increase of 65 over Wednesday's total. The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 19,779.

The county reported 19,138 cases removed from isolation.

Boone County has recorded triple-digit new cases two days this week. The average of new daily cases hit 41.6 on Thursday, a level not seen since early February before vaccines were widely available.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow, with 79 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals. Of those, 31 are in intensive care and 23 are Boone County residents. Nine are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 92,905 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 82,845 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses. Boone County has the largest percentage of people in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 51.5%. The second closest in the state is St. Louis County with 50.1%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 45.9% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is second in the state with 44.2% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 42.1%. Montgomery County is third with 37.9%.

New coronavirus cases in Missouri top 2,000

Missouri's coronavirus surge continued Thursday, with the state health department reporting 2,302 new infections.

The new cases bring the state's total since the start of the pandemic to 540,189. The state's daily average of new cases has reached nearly 1,200, the health department reported, compared to averages of a few hundred just weeks ago. The growth in cases has turned Missouri into one of the country's hottest states for new infections. Missouri was second only to Arkansas for the highest number of new cases per capita over the last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services says new cases are up nearly 60% week over week. The positive test rate was at 13.1% on Thursday.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Missouri's hospitals has jumped hundreds in the past few months. Intensive care patients have topped 380 after dropping to about 120 in April. Health leaders say many of those patients are young adults who are less likely to be vaccinated against coronavirus.

About 20% of inpatient and intensive care beds remain available statewide.

Missouri continues to lag in the percentage of its population that has started vaccination -- 45.7%. Experts say that low vaccination rate combined with the dominance of the more contagious delta variant is helping fuel the massive uptick in cases. The average number of doses administered per day was about 8,000 as of Wednesday. That average was above 50,000 in mid-April.