FRIDAY UPDATES: Hospital systems ready to provide coronavirus boosters
Three Mid-Missouri hospital groups say they're ready to start giving coronavirus booster shots to the newly eligible.
Federal regulators on Friday authorized the Pfizer vaccine for a booster shot at least six months after a person completes their initial two-shot regimen. The booster was authorized for the elderly, people with certain health conditions and those in high-risk work environments such as health care.
The authorization only applies to Pfizer and only to those 18 or older.
Lake Regional Health System told ABC 17 News it is ready to start giving shots once it receives more guidance from the state health department. The system said it is continuing to provide third shots to the immune-compromised at its clinics.
Boone Health said it will follow state and federal regulations related to the booster but is prepared to give the shots next week. Shots will be available at Boone Hospital and the hospital's primary care clinics.
MU Health Care said it will offer boosters to eligible individuals. Scheduling is available online. MU Health said it will offer employees the booster but will not require it. The health care provider is requiring employees to get their initial round of shots by Oct. 1.
Hy-Vee said earlier Friday that it has started to offer boosters at its pharmacies.
Federal and state officials had already authorized booster shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people with weakened immune systems.
Boone County reports one new coronavirus-related death, 39 new cases
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported one new coronavirus-related death. That makes 153 deaths since the pandemic started. The individual was in the 70-74 age group and died Sept. 16.
The county reported 39 new COVID-19 cases.
There are currently 432 active cases in the county. The county now has a reported total number of 24,797 COVID-19 cases.
The county reported 24,382 cases removed from isolation.
Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 19.2% on the week. The county has a 7% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The health department's hospital status turned back to green after two days at yellow, with 76 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 25 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 21 are in intensive care and nine are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 102,453 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 92,537 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses. Boone County has the second-largest percentage of county residents in Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 56.8%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 58.1%.
Boone County is second in the state with a reported 51.3% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the second county in the state with 52% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 55.1% of the population fully vaccinated.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 49.7%. Callaway County is third with 44.9%.
The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.
The district reported a 39 14-day rate per 10,000 for Thursday.
CPS reports 10 district facilities (six elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and two other district facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There is five (.9% of staff) at elementary and one staff (.2% of staff) at the high school level and one (.2% of staff) at a district facility that has tested positive for the coronavirus. The district has five staff currently quarantined because of COVID.
The district reports 32 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 19 out of 21 elementary, all middle schools and three high schools and three districtwide facilities affected.
There are 44 students that have tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of one case from Thursday. The district is reporting 23 students in elementary, 10 students in middle school, nine students in High School and two at a districtwide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus. There are 302 students, which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus, a decrease of five students from Thursday. The district reports 188 elementary students are currently quarantining, 60 students in middle school, 49 students in high school and six at other district facilities.
Nearly half of Cole County residents have received their first coronavirus vaccine dose
The Cole County Health Department reported nine new coronavirus cases.
According to the dashboard update, there are 10,816 residential cases and 284 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,100 total cases in the county.
Cole County has reported 155 coronavirus deaths.
Cole County ranks 73rd in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are down 35.3% comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 7.3% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 49.7% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 45.4% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
The Jefferson City School District reported one new coronavirus case in a staff member.
The district is reporting five cases in students and one active cases in the staff.
The district is reporting eight close contacts for students and one close contact for staff.
Hy-Vee offering coronavirus booster shots
Hy-Vee says it has already started offering Pfizer coronavirus booster shots, making the announcement just hours after federal regulators approved the shots.
Federal advisory committees had recommended the booster for the elderly and people with certain health conditions. However, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added people who work in high-risk settings, such as health care workers.
The recommendation is the shots be taken at least six months after being fully vaccinated. Hy-Vee said it will only administer boosters to those who had the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine originally.
The Pfizer boosters are only available for people 18 and older. Pfizer's two-dose regimen has been approved for 12-17 year olds, but the booster has not been authorized for that age group.
Hy-Vee has stores in Columbia, Jefferson City and Osage Beach.
About 47% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The daily vaccination rate in the state is on the decline, according to data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
New daily cases of COVID-19 drop below 2,000 in Missouri
Missouri added fewer than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 1,523 positive tests were found through the use of PCR testing. The state's daily average for that testing method is 1,378 cases.
Antigen testing revealed another 464 new coronavirus cases.
The statewide seven-day positivity rate slightly dropped Friday from 9.7% on Thursday to 9.6%
Missouri reported four new virus-related deaths. The additional coronavirus-related deaths pushed the statewide total to 11,318.
According to the state health department, there are 1,793 patients hospitalized in Missouri with COVID-19. Of those patients, 316 are on ventilators.
More than 3.2 million Missourians have started the coronavirus vaccination process.
That's 53.3% of Missouri's population.
