THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County becomes first Missouri county with 50% of the population to be fully vaccinated
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 110 new COVID-19 cases Thursday.
There are currently 591 active cases in the county, an increase of 87 from Wednesday. The county now has a reported total number of 23,176 COVID-19 cases.
The county reported 22,444 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 23 from Wednesday.
Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 3.7% on the week. The county has a 10.6% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The health department's hospital status remains yellow, with 125 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 18 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 37 are in intensive care and 14 are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 101,408 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 90,230 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses. Boone County has the largest percentage of county residents in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 56.2%. The second closest county in the state is St. Louis County with 55.2%. The city of Joplin has 52% of the population fully vaccinated.
Boone County is first in the state with a reported 50% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the second county in the state with 49.1% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 48.5%. Montgomery County is third with 44.1%.
The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.
At CPS, the district is reporting a 44.3 14-day rate per 10,000, an increase of nearly three cases.
CPS reports 11 district facilities (two elementary schools, three middle schools, one high school and five other facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There is three staff at elementary, one staff at middle school, one at the high school and four at other districtwide facilities that have tested positive for the coronavirus. The district has five staff currently quarantined because of COVID.
The district reports 30 district facilities have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 17 out of 21 elementary, all middle and high schools and two districtwide facilities affected.
There are 68 students that have tested positive for COVID-19; a 12 case increase from Wednesday. The district is reporting 34 students in elementary, 13 students in middle school and 20 students in High School have tested positive for the coronavirus.
There are 392 students, an increase of 37 students, which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 246 elementary students are currently quarantining, 45 students in middle school and 99 students in high school.
Boone County changing COVID-19 vaccine clinics frequency due to upcoming flu shot at schools
Due to upcoming annual school-based flu shot clinics, Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services will change the number of community COVID-19 vaccine clinics.
After Sept. 15, the health department will not regularly host COVID-19 vaccination. The health department will announce any pop-up COVID-19 vaccination opportunities as they occur, but community members are encouraged to get the vaccine from doctors and pharmacies.
The health department will host the clinics at the following time and date:
Tuesday, Sept. 7
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services
1005 W. Worley St., Columbia
2 to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 8
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church
1707 Smiley Lane, Columbia
2 to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 11
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services
1005 W. Worley St., Columbia
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 14
Midway Travel Plaza
6401 W. Highway 40, Columbia
1 to 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 15
Harrisburg Christian Church
201 Sexton St., Harrisburg
2 to 4 p.m.
The community clinics listed will offer both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Cole County reports 28 new coronavirus cases
The Cole County Health Department reported 28 new coronavirus cases.
According to the dashboard update, there are 10,452 residential cases and 284 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 10,736 total cases in the county.
Cole County has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Mid-Missouri with 146. The county did not report any new deaths Thursday.
Cole County ranks 35th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are down 23.9% on the week. The county has an 11.2% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 48.5% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 43.3% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
The Jefferson City School District reports one new coronavirus case Thursday. The district has nine active coronavirus cases in students and six active cases in staff.
The district is reporting three close contacts for students and one close contact for staff.
Missouri tops 2,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases
Missouri reported 2,000-plus new confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday for the first time this week.
The state health department reported 2,245 new confirmed cases and another 866 probable cases identified through antigen testing. Missouri has now logged 634,296 confirmed cases during the pandemic and 129,378 probable cases.
Thursday's total is well over the weekly average of 1,558 cases per day. However, the state health department reported a 13.5% reduction in new cases over the past week. Deaths have declined 52% over the last week, according to the state coronavirus dashboard.
Many Mid-Missouri counties have seen new cases level off or decline. However, Moniteau County ranks No. 15 for most new cases per capita over the past week, with Pettis ranking 19th.
The number of Missourians with COVID-19 in intensive care is declining, though the daily average remains at a level comparable to the pandemic's peak last winter. About 650 COVID-19 patients were in ICUs on average as of Tuesday, the most recent reliable data available.
The current wave of the pandemic, powered by the more contagious delta variant, is infecting young people more than older people, state numbers show. The 18-24, 25-29 and 30-34 and 35-39 age groups have been among the top age groups for new cases during the summer surge. The number of children 17 and under testing positive for the virus has also increased dramatically.
Just 45.3% of Missourians are fully vaccinated, according to health officials. Daily new vaccinations have been declining since mid-August and vaccination rates for younger people are far lower than for older Missourians.
