MONDAY UPDATES: Missouri DHSS adds 136 coronavirus related deaths after analyzing death certificates

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has added 136 COVID-19 related deaths after the state’s disease surveillance system analyzed several death certificates.

Officials say the deaths will be captured and reported publicly through the dashboard Tuesday morning.

Of the 136 deaths:

• 28 in August
• 108 in September

Officials at DHSS report the weekly activity typically causes a sharp increase in the deaths added to Missouri’s total the following day. DHSS is now regularly analyzing death certificates on Mondays.

Officials say the state does not track probable or pending deaths.

Eligible Missourians can now get the Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services will begin giving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shot to eligible Missourians after the latest federal guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Missourians can receive the booster if they originally got a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine shot at least six months after their initial series based on CDC guidance:

• people 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings should receive a booster;
• people aged 50—64 years with underlying medical conditions should receive a booster;
• people aged 18—49 years with underlying medical conditions mayreceive a booster; and
• people aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting (e.g. front line medical workers, teachers, and first responders) may receive a booster

The CDC lists the list of medical conditions categorized as high-risk here.

Any Missourians with an underlying medical condition should speak with their health care provider about whether a booster shot is right for them.

Anyone that is looking to get the Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot can get it administered anywhere the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is available and there is no need to get it at the same location where the first shots were administered.

Boone County reports 65 new coronavirus cases; 442 active cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 65 new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 442 active cases in the county, an increase of 10 from Friday. The county now has a reported total number of 24,447 COVID-19 cases.

The county reported 23,852 cases removed from isolation.

Boone County ranks eleventh in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 30.7% on the week. The county has a 6.5% 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 75 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 28 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 23 are in intensive care and eight are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 102,152 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 92,357 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 56.6%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 58.3%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 51.2% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 52.3% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 55.3% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 49.8%. Callaway County is third with 45%.

The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.

The district reported a 35.8 14-day rate per 10,000 for Sunday.

CPS reports three district facilities (two elementary schools and one high school) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There is one staff (.2% of staff) at elementary and one staff (.2% of staff) at the high school level that has tested positive for the coronavirus. The district has one staff member currently quarantined because of COVID.

The district reports 31 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 18 out of 21 elementary, all middle schools and three high schools and three districtwide facilities affected.

There are 31 students that have tested positive for COVID-19, a decrease of 13 cases from the weekend. The district is reporting 17 students in elementary, seven students in middle school, six students in High School and one at a districtwide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus. There are 196 students, which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus, a decrease of 106 students from Friday. The district reports 141 elementary students are currently quarantining, 27 students in middle school, 27 students in high school and three at other district facilities.

Cole County reports 62 new coronavirus cases from over the weekend

The Cole County Health Department reported 62 new coronavirus cases from over the weekend.

According to the dashboard update, there are 10,878 residential cases and 284 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,162 total cases in the county.

Cole County has reported 155 coronavirus deaths.

Cole County ranks 81st in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are down 43.4% comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 7.1% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 49.8% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 45.5% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported no new coronavirus cases in students or staff.

The district is reporting six cases in students.

The district is reporting 10 close contacts for students and one close contact for staff.

MU Health Care updates online coronavirus dashboard

MU Health Care will now report the number of COVID-19 patients in its hospitals who have been vaccinated.

The organization said Monday it has added the metric to the website where it reports its COVID-19 numbers. On Monday, MU Health Care reported that six of 53 patients were fully vaccinated. One of the 24 patients in intensive care was vaccinated.

MU Health Care has reported its number of hospital patients with COVID-19 for much of the 18-month-long pandemic. The organization said in a news release that adding the number of vaccinated patients increases transparency. Those considered vaccinated are at least two weeks past their second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna two-shot vaccines or after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“Our data show the majority of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 are unvaccinated,” Stevan Whitt, MU Health Care’s chief clinical officer, said in the release. “It remains vitally important to get vaccinated, as vaccinations are the best way to protect against severe illness and death due to COVID-19.” 

The information will be updated multiple times per day.

Missouri add fewer than 860 new cases of COVID-19

Missouri reported Monday fewer than 860 new cases of COVID-19.

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 760 patients tested positive for the virus through the use of PCR testing.

That's well below Missouri's daily average of 1,187 cases for the PCR testing method.

Antigen testing also revealed another 99 new coronavirus cases.

Missouri's seven-day positivity rate dropped Monday from 9.4% on Sunday to 9.3%.

The state health department didn't add any new coronavirus-related deaths. At least 11,332 patients in Missouri have died from virus-related causes since the pandemic started.

There are 1,543 people hospitalized in Missouri with COVID-19. The state health department reported 263 of those patients are on ventilators.

More than 3.2 million Missourians have started the coronavirus vaccination process.

That's 53.4% of the state's population.