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Missouri gaining ground along broadband superhighway, but many more miles to go

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A new report says Missouri ranks 32nd in the nation in broadband internet access – a positive step from 41st just a couple years ago. Federal and state aid have helped to boost access around Missouri.

The report says 23% of Missouri students still do not have access to high-speed internet. Plus, it says the state ranks in the bottom five for access to low-cost internet.

Missouri gaining ground along broadband superhighway, but many more miles to go (Photo courtesy of Alisa Nelson)

During a state Board of Education meeting Tuesday, Tim Arbeiter, state Director of Missouri’s Broadband Development Office, said there is still a lot of work to do.

“Within the next three years, I think we could probably cut our divide in half. But I still think we are going to have challenges ahead of us in the affordability space. As I listen to my colleagues across the state, when affordability programs are active and live, there is still some hesitancy from populations to hook on. We don’t know the aspects and the why to that. So, we need to understand that little piece a little bit better,” said Arbeiter.

Arbeiter said Missouri has 255 broadband internet providers, including cable, wireless, electric, and telecommunication companies.

Rob Dixon, the director of the state Department of Economic Development, said Missouri’s economy will not grow without continuing to boost broadband access.

“It’s a key plank in our overall economic development strategy,” says Dixon. “The big question of is it an affordability issue or is it an access issue or is it a device issue. The answer is yes on all of those things. And so, it is a pretty challenging issue all around.”

He said data shows Missouri is a mixed bag in its state of broadband.

“The bottom line message I think that we have is there is still very much a gap that we are trying to close, but we are moving in that right direction. We’re still on the wrong side of that list but we are moving forward. It’s a difficult issue to talk about kind of in a positive way because there is still such a big gap that we are trying to close. I think that’s why there’s so much urgency around this issue,” says Dixon.

Board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge of Pasadena Hills said some individuals in the corporate community want to help.

“Maybe where they plug in and play is with these short-term actions,” she said.

Members talked about broadband coverage being spotty from house to house. During the pandemic, some communities have set up portable wifi connections for students to access internet from a building or a parked bus, for instance.

“A lot of homework being done at the McDonalds,” said Board President Charlie Shields of St. Joseph.

To view the report, click here.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri puts the brakes on the use of J&J COVID-19 vaccine

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Missouri has suspended the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine until further notice.

“In an abundance of caution and as per federal guidelines, we are pausing vaccination with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine until further notice in Missouri,” says Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). “We anticipate having more information shortly to make further decisions about overall vaccine distribution in light of this new development and will continue to update citizens who have been vaccinated with the J&J vaccine after the advisory committee meets at the federal level tomorrow.”

A press release today from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says a new standing order for this vaccine has been issued by DHSS and is effective immediately.

The announcement comes after a statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration saying the federal agencies are investigating a rare and severe type of blood clot reported in six women that occurred after getting the vaccination. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been given nationwide.

People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Patients with other clinical questions should contact their health care provider or call the COVID-19 hotline at 877-435-8411.

Providers are asked to keep any on-hand J&J vaccine in the appropriate storage unit and label it “quarantine-do not use” until further notice.

DHSS says as the state receives more information, it will be made available. The impact the move will have on Missouri’s mass and mega vaccination events is unknown at this time. Some of those have used the J&J vaccine.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Mizzou gets opportunity of a lifetime in 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

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Out of about 100 bands competing from around the world for a spot to be in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the University of Missouri marching band has been chosen to help kick off the holiday season. Marching Mizzou will dazzle a festive crowd during the 96th annual parade to 34th street in New York City. So will the giant helium balloons, colorful floats, and of course, the big guy in red.

Marching Mizzou (Photo courtesy of Dr. Amy Knopps)

The selection process is highly competitive. Marching Mizzou is one of nine bands that will make the march beyond Macy’s Herald Square. Only three university-level bands were chosen. The rest are high school and cultural bands.

Marching Mizzou Director, Dr. Amy Knopps, was on cloud nine about the announcement. During an interview with Missourinet, her energy was contagious as she smiled from ear to ear the entire time.

“I’m so proud of our students for their hard work and dedication. They didn’t know that this was a goal of mine, but now they do,” Knopps chuckles. “I know for them this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They’re going to look back on this memory and have the opportunity to tell their friends and family, ‘Remember when we marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.’ My heart just bursts because they are going to make so many memories.”

The selection process involves a Macy’s committee reviewing video of field performances submitted by each band. Knopps, a Mizzou alumna, entered a video of the band’s field show celebrating the St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup win. The drums were wrapped in blue and gold. Special drumheads had the Stanley Cup logo. Members were positioned in the shape of the Stanley Cup and a Stanley Cup banner was proudly stretched across the field. Two Blues players even joined the band on the field.

“That got the attention of national media, the NHL, NBC Sports,” says Knopps. “They were generating that national media and I thought, ‘We’ve made two really good splashes this year. I’m going to submit this media package.’ I just knew that level of musical and marching execution was finally there to hopefully get the attention of the parade committee.”

Wesley Whatley, the creative director at Macy’s, tells Missourinet Marching Mizzou’s vision is what has landed members in the historic parade.

“We want to see that there’s a vision and that it’s carried through in every detail,” says Whatley. “It’s not just a musical arrangement – it’s in the design. It’s inviting the players. It’s doing it in the drill. Those are the kind of creative sort of ideas that really land well in the Macy’s parade.”

Whatley knows a thing or two about band performances. He joined the Macy’s team in 2003 and has 18 parades under his belt so far.

The parade began in 1924. It has been held every year except for a couple during World War II. The event is approaching its century mark at the same time Marching Mizzou will celebrate its 137th season.

“We want to be a part of that evolution of the band program,” says Whatley. “We just hope that the parade is another step on a long journey for you, Dr. Knopps.”

Whately says committee members have had their eyes on the Tigers for a while.

“A band program is greatly influenced by leadership. We saw Dr. Knopps join the program. We know her pedigree. We know where she comes from. We knew that she was coming into this program to invest in it and to improve it,” says Whatley.

He says the band will get to experience all that New York has to offer during the holidays.

“It’s an experience unlike anything. I think at the high school age level to get to come to New York, to see a Broadway show, go to a museum, it could potentially inspire these kids to study music in college, pursue a career in this field. We like to keep the backbone of our program in the high school age range, but I have to be honest, college programs are so exciting on our route. So, we always want to save room for colleges. That’s a special age because they are mature musicians. They’ve had that high school experience. They’re studying in college. They know how to play. They know how to entertain,” he says.

Both Whatley and Knopps expect extra interest in the band program after this announcement.

“As you can imagine, when an opportunity like this is on the horizon, a lot of students decide to join the band or they might decide to stay if they were thinking about leaving. I hope that Dr. Knopps benefits from the value of an invitation like this,” says Whatley.

“This is a great recruitment for us. Our work has begun on this performance and this trip. Every moment and every aspect of what we do is with that goal in mind to have an impactful performance on 34th street,” says Knopps. “We may get up to 400 by the time we are over!”

Knopps, who has been in her position since 2017, says her parade dream would be to have the band perform to the music of American rocker Sheryl Crow – a University of Missouri graduate and native of southeast Missouri’s Kennett. The icing on top of the cake would be if Crow joins her alma mater for the performance.

The parade has not had an artist/band collaboration before. Whatley says he loves the idea.

The band is no stranger to Sheryl Crow’s music. Last fall, the Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter was inducted into the University of Missouri Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame. Marching Mizzou played a part in recognizing Crow that day by performing her 2002 hit “Soak Up The Sun” and spelling Crow on its practice field.

The 300-member strong band plans to roll out its fundraising efforts today for the trip to the Big Apple. Macy’s has donated $10,000 for the cause.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Marching Mizzou is one of only three universities performing in 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

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The University of Missouri marching band is one of only three university bands performing in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Alisa Nelson reports.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

School nurse group hopes Missouri districts will put federal aid toward hiring nurses

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Missouri’s K-12 schools are getting a big chunk of change in the latest federal coronavirus relief package. The U.S. Department of Education says $1.95 billion total has been designated for Missouri schools. The plan also includes funding for a program to increase student internet connectivity for virtual learning and aid for nonpublic schools.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to schoolchildren and teachers in mid-Missouri’s California School District on September 9, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Linda Neumann, with the Missouri Association of School Nurses, says the group hopes the state’s school districts will consider using some of the federal funding to hire school nurses.

“The Missouri Association of School Nurses is hoping that in Missouri, they will invest the federal funding in a way that will effectively achieve safer classrooms in schools, to improve the physical and mental health and academic success of children. Part of this involves hiring school nurses in those schools that do not have access to a school nurse,” says Neumann. “If they need school nurses or if they need a counselor or maybe they can expand the number of school nurses they have so that one school nurse doesn’t have to cover three schools.”

Neumann tells Missourinet a 2020 state Education Department report shows about 20% of Missouri public school districts do not have a nurse.

“For some students, the school nurse is their actual health care home because of lack of access in their community, especially in some of our rural communities. That tends to be where there is a lack of school nurses right now, where not every town has a doctor, dentist, or a pharmacy, but they have a school. If that school has a registered nurse there to take care of those kids, that school nurse can really fill in the gaps, find resources, and have resources brought in. “It’s not that schools don’t appreciate having a registered nurse there. It is often a budget issue,” she says.

Neumann says in the early 1990s, about 50% of Missouri public school districts did not have a school nurse on hand. Then, an effort began to tax smokeless tobacco products and designate that revenue toward putting more nurses in schools.

In 1995, Missouri allocated $5.4 million annually for 15 years for school health services, which increased school nurses in schools to 99.7%. That funding ended in 2010. As a result, not all school nurse positions were sustained.

For the schools without a registered school nurse, some have a health aide. Others rely on their principal or an administrative assistant to field health problems. Without a school nurse, Neumann says the level of expertise and care the kids are going to receive is not going to be the same.

According to the state Department of Health and Senior Services, there are more than 72,000 Missouri K-12 public school students with asthma, some 27,000 have life-threatening food allergies, about 7,300 suffer from seizures, and more than 2,200 have Type 1 diabetes.

“This doesn’t even mention the impact that COVID-19 has had on kids,” says Neumann. “COVID-19 has definitely disrupted learning of students and compromised their physical and mental health. We have seen anxiety and depression go up tremendously in our state both in children and adults during covid.”

Neumann says having a school nurse on staff helps to reduce student absenteeism.

“When a registered nurse is there to help manage those chronic health conditions, like asthma and diabetes, those are things that the healthier we can keep the kids the more they can be in school,” she says.

Neumann cites The Journal of American Medical Association showing the benefits of investing in a school nurse.

“Their determination was that in schools, for every dollar invested in a full-time registered school nurse, that society would gain $2.20,” she says.

When administrators or school boards are determining how many school nurses are needed, Neumann says the schools should keep in mind student safety.

“That means nurse to student ratio and it really varies depending on the health needs of the students and the social determinants of the population,” she says. “If you have 700 kids that are all well, one school nurse is sufficient. But if you have eight kids with Type 1 diabetes, three with seizure disorders, three with sickle cell, a kiddo with chemotherapy – there are just so many factors that play into that.”

Missouri has about 550 traditional public school districts and charter schools serving roughly 900,000 students.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Since late January, no coronavirus cases among Missouri veterans home residents

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For the first time since March 2020, Missouri’s seven veterans homes are once again accepting applications for new residents. Due to the pandemic, new admissions had not been allowed since then.

The state-operated nursing homes caring for veterans are located in Cameron, Cape Girardeau, Mexico, Mount Vernon, St. James, St. Louis, and Warrensburg.

A coronavirus outbreak last year within the homes claimed the lives of at least 158 veterans. A press release from the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) says there have been no COVID-19 cases among patients in any of the homes since the end of January.

“In addition to complying with infection control guidance set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), MVC has implemented daily COVID-19 testing protocols for all staff and veterans along with continual infection control training. MVC has created a phased reopening approach based on real-time monitoring of the coronavirus in each Home and each community’s positivity rate,” the press release says.

Commission Spokeswoman Aimee Packard tells Missourinet real-time active staff testing/monitoring has identified three staff members are currently infected with the virus. Following a positive staff case, she says the individual must isolate at home for a minimum of 10 days, and MVC enacts the CDC Return to Work protocol for health care personnel. Any close contacts are isolated, and all staff complete an infection control refresher.

Following MVC protocols, Packard says the homes with active cases have canceled indoor visitation, deep cleaned any location the positive staff member has been and completed contact tracing.

To be eligible for admission to a Missouri veterans home, an individual must meet the criteria for veteran status established by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and require 24-hour skilled nursing health care services. Eligibility and admission decisions are made by a team comprising the home administrator, physician, director of nursing, social worker, Veterans Service Officer, and other professionals as needed. The following are also requirements for eligibility.

• The veteran must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable;
• The veteran must be a resident of Missouri who has maintained a physical residency in Missouri for 180 consecutive days (6 months) immediately prior to application for placement in a veterans home;
• The veteran must have documentation from a physician that he/she needs skilled nursing home care;
• The veteran’s health condition must be such that the home has the resources to care for him/her.

Veterans must have a negative coronavirus PCR test prior to admission. The commission strongly encourages all veterans to be fully vaccinated before admission to avoid a mandatory two-week quarantine upon arrival for non-vaccinated veterans.

Packard says the homes are allowing outdoor visits with family and friends and outings for the veterans.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri panel works to find out why boarding school abuse allegations have fallen through the cracks

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The work of the Missouri Children’s Division is being reviewed after abuse allegations involving several faith-based boarding schools went under the public’s radar for years. An investigation by the Kansas City Star has found students at some of these places have been beaten, raped, starved, restrained, and isolated.

Missouri Capitol (Photo by Alisa Nelson)

Some former students have made the allegations against Agape Boarding School and Legacy Boys Academy in Stockton, Masters Ranch in far southern Missouri, and Circle of Hope Girls Ranch near Humansville.

Circle of Hope closed last month after the owners were charged with 102 total felonies in connection with abuse allegations. They remain in jail without bond.

Missouri and South Carolina are the only states in the nation with an exemption to allow religious boarding schools to go unchecked. The state House has passed a bipartisan bill that would regulate these schools.

Representatives Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, and Keri Ingle, D-Kansas City, are sponsoring the legislation. It would require safety inspections, background checks for all employees, and the schools must notify the state of their existence. The measure would also give the Missouri Department of Social Services and courts more power to investigate child abuse in the schools. The proposal has not yet been assigned to a Senate committee.

During a Missouri House Government Oversight Committee hearing, Representative Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka, referred to a Children’s Division organizational chart provided to the committee.

“This bureaucracy – this red tape – this is why people hate government. Right here. Right here. People hate government because of this. I hate government many days because of that,” said Bailey. “This organizational chart is so middle-heavy, top-heavy, whatever you want to call it. So, we need people on the ground and the information needs to flow. When you have this information, it isn’t going to flow. When we need boots on the ground and we’ve got 60 managers managing each other, we have problems. The bulk of the staff is in offices – why? Why aren’t boots on the ground taking care of these kids and I go back to how we all got here. And I guess I actually answer my own question – how does something like Circle of Hope happen? Well, I just look at the organizational structure.”

Acting Director Jennifer Tidball, with the Missouri Department of Social Services, said she agrees there are not enough boots on the ground and there is work being done to address the organizational structure.

Tidball said the state has about 1,200 caseworkers. In fiscal year 2020, Missouri’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline fielded about 154,000 calls.

Representative Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, the chairman of the committee, asked why the department has not informed lawmakers about the problems at these unlicensed schools sooner. Tidball pointed to a number of factors, including not wanting to “repeat” how Heartland Christian Academy was handled.

In 2001, Heartland was raided after reports of abuse. Some 100 students were removed from the location but were allowed to return days later. Five employees were charged but all were either acquitted or had charges dropped. Missouri ended up settling the court case.

She said others, like the courts and juvenile officers, are also involved in abuse and neglect investigations. Tidball said at times staff are hesitant to upset that balance.

Tidball said she could have done more to find out about the problems, but partially blamed the department’s organizational structure.

“Should I have dug deeper? Should I have known more about what was going on in the Children’s Division? I can take responsibility for that. But I think that part of it is you had people that were following chain of command. It wasn’t getting up to me,” she said.

Representative J. Eggleston, R-Maysville, questioned Tidball if workers are retaliated against for talking to legislators.

“They do have the freedom – if you go to them and say, ‘How’s it going in the department?’ Absolutely and I know that happens because I will hear from legislators around what they are hearing in their districts and we sit down and talk about that. But there’s no retaliation for that. That’s their right to be able to do that as a citizen and as a state employee,” said Tidball.

“We had heard otherwise,” said Eggleston. “We had heard that, ‘No. You are not to be talking to legislators. You need to send them up.’ Really, the only three people that we could interact with in the department, is you three right here.”

Tidball says they have the freedom to talk to lawmakers, but they cannot mention confidential information. She said she will email workers to make clear what they can and cannot say or do.

Representative Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, said she and other members of the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect have received emails from boots on the ground fearing retaliation.

“They weren’t speaking of specific cases – more about the management style and approach, the threats where they either A, feel that they have been retaliated against for saying, ‘Hey we missed something or trying to insist on having a more in-depth look at a particular issue within a case and have been retaliated against or in just udder and complete fear,” she said. “It’s one thing to sort of give the, ‘Hey this is okay.’ And then the individuals who in charge of managing particular the boots on the ground, in the home people, still taking that strong-arm approach to not talking to legislators is extremely problematic. I just want everybody under the sound of my voice to know that they are going to do it anyway.”

Tidball told Proudie to send her the complaints – without names attached.

“I think making clear what the department policy, then that puts us in a position to deal with managers who aren’t following it – from an HR perspective,” said Tidball.

Proudie said any supervisors who are using this approach are also breaking Missouri’s Whistleblower law.

Taylor’s office says the committee plans to hold a hearing next week for the public to offer testimony. The date and time are still being finalized.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

(AUDIO) Missouri’s third mega vaccination event comes at pivotal time

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The state of Missouri is organizing its third mega vaccination event. Up to 10,000 total doses of coronavirus vaccine could be given Thursday and Friday at the Hammons Student Center on the Missouri State University campus.

Dr. Russell Kohl is a colonel in the Missouri National Guard and is also a family physician who is helping to organize the event. He encourages Missourians to get vaccinated during this pivotal time.

The Missouri National Guard, the state Department of Health and Senior Services and Pettis County health officials assist residents at a mass vaccination clinic in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia on February 23, 2021 (photo courtesy of the State Emergency Management Agency)

“We know that vaccine is effective for the B.1.1.7 variant that has been identified in the area,” he tells Missourinet. “We know that we are just far enough after spring break that if some folks didn’t pay attention to what they were supposed to be doing at spring break that we are about at the point where we would start to see an outbreak.”

Beginning Friday, all Missouri adults are eligible to get vaccinated statewide. The mega event is open to all eligible Missourians.

“Just in the past week, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department has announced the B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19 there in Greene County. This is the variant that effects younger folks more and is easier to spread. It’s a great opportunity for the folks, particularly the college students and some of the younger folks who have not been eligible before, to be able to get that one and done Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” says Kohl.

According to the Sean Barnhill with the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, about 4,000 people have registered for the mega event so far.

Col. Kohl says registrants should plan to be there for about an hour. It is a walk thru event.

For Missourians who aren’t crazy about needles, Kohl says the worst part of anxiety is waiting for something to happen.

“Given the numbers of vaccines that we are trying to do, it is not uncommon at these sorts of events for us to be doing 125-150 shots every 15 minutes. Once you get to being near a vaccinator, there’s no time to worry anymore,” he says. “The shot is done.”

State-organized mass vaccination events have been going on since January. The state of Missouri has completed about 2.8 million total doses so far.

“The Missouri National Guard-supported events, so far in the state of Missouri, have administered over 250,000 doses. The National Guard-supported events, which really are a huge team effort of the National Guard supporting those local folks, we are still running about 10-12% of the overall vaccines in Missouri,” says Kohl.

According to Kohl, an event of Thursday’s and Friday’s size takes about 100 National Guard soldiers. Americorps volunteers, local public health department employees, and others are also helping.

“When we first started, really, the mass vaccination teams out in the different regions in late January, at that point those National Guard events were giving between 20-30% of the total doses in the state. We’ve been able to keep increasing the number of doses that we give, but as I just mentioned we are now down to 10-12%. So, that’s actually a great thing for the state of Missouri and kind of reflects how many more doses are coming into the state. Your local health departments, your doctor’s offices, your pharmacies – there’s a whole lot of people on the team trying to get shots in arms at this point.”

He says the plan is to use the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for other mega events.

“From a public health perspective, when we are trying to get a large amount of the population vaccinated, being able to use that one and done vaccine is a really effective tool to help that,” says Kohl. “If we get 10,000 people to come out to Missouri State on Thursday and Friday, and a month from now we do it again, if we gave Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine, then at the end of that we would have 10,000 vaccinated Missourians, which is great. However, if we are able to use J&J for that event, with the exact same amount of work, a month from now we’ve got 20,000 Missourians vaccinated. This is all about a numbers game of being able to get as many shots in arms of Missourians and getting them immune as soon as possible.”

As far as no-shows go at the mass and mega events statewide, Col. Kohl says the workers have backup plans to use leftover vaccine and avoid waste. He says the no show rate can run in the 10-15% range overall.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Spokeswoman Lisa Cox tells Missourinet whether booster shots will be needed around the fall to help prevent infection is not clear yet. She says manufacturers are preparing the vaccines just in case. Therefore, it is still too early to tell if the state will be organizing future mass vaccination events for booster shots.

To register for the Springfield event or another one, go to mostopscovid.com.

The full interview is below.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri bill would lower school immunization requirements

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Missouri children attending daycares, K-12 public schools, or public higher education schools might not be required to get vaccinated against certain illnesses – if they have a “conscientious belief” opposing the immunizations. State Representative Suzie Pollock, R-Lebanon, is proposing the change for vaccinations against polio, rubella, rubeola, mumps, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, and hepatitis B.

Current state law allows student vaccination exemptions for religious and medical reasons.

Her bill would also mean the state’s roughly 120,000 K-12 private, parochial, and parish school students would not have to get those vaccinations.

Missouri Capitol (Photo by Alisa Nelson)

Pollock says the state needs to reign in schools and local health departments.

“They require forms. Some schools and health departments require that the form be put on card stock or have a certain seal, or that they have to make an appointment with a nurse and watch a video. The difficulties just keep mounting and they make it more and more difficult every day,” Pollock says.

The legislation would only require the meningitis vaccination for Missouri college students living in publicly owned housing.

During a House committee hearing, Pollock, a registered cardiovascular invasive specialist, says more than 72 vaccination doses are required of students by the time they are 18, but most in the first four years.

“In 1982, there were 24 doses. And today, there are over 72 doses. There are no studies that they (vaccinations) are making them better,” says Pollock.

Linda Neumann, with the Missouri Association of School Nurses, says 31 doses are required before age 18 – not 72. She tells Missourinet the bill would weaken the state’s immunization requirements for kids at a time when other states are strengthening theirs.

“We believe that childhood immunizations are safe and effective. This is a real pivotal time for us. I hate to see us loosen our requirements,” she says. “Children in – it doesn’t matter what their setting is – whether it’s public, private, or parochial, they all deserve to live healthier and be free of communicable diseases. We have seen what’s happened with COVID-19 and what can happen with a communicable disease.”

Another example she points to is the measles.

“It’s extremely contagious and can lead to all kinds of things that you don’t want like blindness or brain damage, which is possible from the very high fevers. But thanks to the measles vaccine, we went from four million cases annually to in the year 2000, we were declared measles free in our country. But unfortunately the decline in the vaccination rate has led to a return to a measles outbreak,” she says. “In 2019, we had 1,282 cases, I believe, in the United States.”

Neumann cites a study saying about 40% of parents against vaccinations oppose them for philosophical reasons and another 60% oppose them due to inconvenience. She says there has been a huge effort, especially in Missouri, to increase access to students whose parents might not have the means to get their children to an immunization appointment.

“There are schools that have immunization vans come out during the summer to help run kids through before school starts,” says Neumann. “We’re doing everything we can to make it easier on parents, but we need parents’ help too. We understand that there are truly religious exemptions, but we also understand that not having your child immunized just because it’s an inconvenience leads to a bigger population that’s not immunized and we start losing herd immunity. We know that herd immunity works.”

Pollock calls the legislation a freedom bill.

“It separates and weakens government overreach into our private schools, businesses, and property,” says Pollock.

Neumann says she understands that people have rights and liberties.

“But we all have those rights and liberties. We have a right to feel protected from communicable diseases when we have vaccine to prevent these things,” says Neumann.

The Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee has voted 10-6 in favor of the bill. The House Rules Committee is considering Pollock’s measure.

To view House Bill 37, click here.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Will the Missouri Senate back the House’s effort to defund Medicaid expansion? Senate leader weighs in

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The Missouri House has passed the next state operating budget – without funding voter-approved Medicaid expansion. The $34.1 billion budget plan is now in the hands of the Republican-controlled Senate. Missouri Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, gives his thoughts to Missourinet affiliate KTUI in Sullivan about whether he expects the upper chamber to fund the expansion.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz speaks to Capitol reporters on November 8, 2018 (photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

“The House chose not to fund it. I think it’s likely that the Senate does not put it in the budget as far as funding Medicaid and it will be up to, at that point, to see what the courts say. I believe we have the Constitutional grounds to stand behind the decisions because we are the appropriators of money. We’ll see where it goes,” Schatz tells KTUI. “But I think, again, it’ll remain up to the will of the Senate of the 34 members as to whether or not we do put it in. If some sort of funding mechanism goes in there, then obviously the House and Senate would have to get together, conference on that item and see if there’s a compromise there in order to do it. But I mean it’s likely right now if the House didn’t send it over in there, I believe it’s likely that the Senate, it’s probably not in there as well.”

Last August, 53% of Missouri voters approved providing government-funded health care coverage to about 275,000 low-income adults, although it failed in 105 of the state’s 114 counties.

Under the expansion, 90% of the funding comes from the federal government. Missouri picks up the rest of the tab.

“The one thing that it did not include in it was a funding mechanism,” says Schatz. “Therefore, obviously all it did was expand the Medicaid population to 138% of the poverty level. I truly believe, had there been something in there that said, ‘Oh and by the way, we are going to increase this tax or that tax in order to pay for this program,’ I don’t think that measure passes.”

Gov. Mike Parson, a fellow Republican, requested $1.9 billion to fund the expansion set to begin in July. Parson did not back the expansion ballot measure but has said he will implement it. Here is what Parson has to say about the GOP-controlled House’s effort.

“We’ll have to see how that goes in the Senate there. We did put the money in the budget for that. People did vote for it. Although I didn’t support it (expansion) at the time but the reality of it is, the people of the state voted for it. I thought it was my obligation as governor to make sure we try to get it implemented,” Parson tells Missourinet affiliate KDRO in Sedalia. “We’ll see though. The House voted against that – a little different maneuver I want to say, I guess. We’ll see what the Senate does and we’ll see how it comes out at the end of the day.”

The Legislature could choose to use the governor’s request for the expansion to instead help seniors in nursing homes, the developmentally disabled, expand mental health programs, add more public defenders, and for K-12 public school transportation costs.

In excerpts from a statement from Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, she says Republicans need to stop with the political grandstanding and games.

“The only thing House Republicans have done is declare they would rather bankrupt the state Medicaid program than respect the clear will of the voters and fulfill their most basic oath to follow the constitution. They would rather cling to extreme partisan dogma that holds our state back than accept the tremendous economic and public health benefits expansion will provide. This fight is so unnecessary and little more than a destructive temper tantrum by petulant children who didn’t get their way,” says Quade. “So, after expansion takes effect three months from now and more Missourians enroll, the program at some point will run out of spending authority if House Republicans are successful in defunding Medicaid in the final state budget. That will require the legislature to return for a costly special session to pass a supplemental budget bill to fund Medicaid for the full year. And if Republicans refuse to provide full funding in a supplemental, then the battle will shift to the judicial branch, where it inevitably ends with a court ordering Republicans to comply with the constitution. Every medical organization and patient advocacy group in the state supports expansion. Even the Missouri Chamber of Commerce – as Republican of a group as there is – supports expansion.”

The state Constitution requires the Missouri Legislature to approve a balanced budget by early May.

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