Health / Medicine Archives

Missouri unveils new COVID-19 vaccine website

November 25, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor has announced the launch of a new vaccine website, which answers common questions and clarifies what it calls misinformation.

The new website is mostopscovid.com, and provides Missourians with information about the safety of the vaccines, research and production processes and when they could be eligible for vaccination.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (left) tours Milbank Manufacturing in Kansas City on November 20, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Governor Mike Parson emphasizes that safety involving the vaccines is not being sacrificed. The governor says research and development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines continue to show promising safety and effectiveness findings.

One tab on the website is titled “get the facts”, and says you cannot get COVID-19 from the vaccine. Another tab is called “rumor control”.

Missouri submitted its 111-page plan for administering the impending COVID vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in October.

State health officials say there are currently 2,680 COVID patients in Missouri hospitals, including 664 in the ICU. The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there have been 24,922 new COVID cases in the past week, which is down about 1,000 from Friday. There have been 78 new COVID deaths in the past week.

CDC in Missouri Monday to begin landmark COVID-19 study within schools

November 25, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have boots on the ground in Missouri Monday to begin a first-of-its-kind COVID-19 study within some K-12 schools. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams says the state pitched the study idea to the CDC.

CDC in Missouri Monday to begin landmark COVID-19 study within schools

He tells Missourinet two groups of students will be tested for COVID-19 over a 30-day period.

“Students who are identified as close contacts at school that are wearing masks. So, if the patient who was identified and the student was identified at school, then in one arm of the study, they can still come to school. Now, they will quarantine when they are at home when they leave school,” says Williams.

The other group being tested are students considered a close contact who are required to quarantine for 14 days, regardless of whether they were wearing a mask.

Teachers will be included in the case and contact investigation.

“The prevailing evidence to date after about eight months is, is that there is a very low risk of catching COVID-19 at school just from proximity if you are wearing a mask,” says Dr. Williams.

Missouri does not have a statewide mask requirement. Earlier this month, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education loosened the guidelines for making students and staff quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19, if they were properly wearing masks at school.

Williams did not have information about the number of schools and which schools are involved.

“You need to check a certain number to reach what is called the power to make a conclusion. So, that all is being done by our epidemiologists at the CDC, Washington University, and St. Louis University. They will determine how many people you need to study to make that observation,” Dr. Williams says.

He says the results of the study will be published for the nation’s school systems to see.

Virtual town hall tonight about COVID-19 within Missouri prisons

November 24, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union and several other organizations are hosting a virtual town hall this evening at 7 p.m. to talk about COVID-19 outbreaks within Missouri’s prisons. Families of those impacted by COVID inside Missouri prisons will have the opportunity to speak directly to some state leaders.

Virtual town hall tonight about COVID-19 within Missouri prisons

Panelists include Dr. Randall Williams, Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, Tim Cutt, Missouri Corrections Officer Association, Dr. Cheryl Avant, Health Chair NAACP, Amy Breihan, Co-Director MacArthur Justice Center, Ingrid Burnett, MO Democrat Caucus, Wiley Price, the Black Caucus, and others.

Missouri Department of Corrections spokesperson Karen Pojmann tells Missourinet 758 prisoners and 254 employees currently have COVID-19. Twenty-seven inmates and four workers have died from the virus.

To register for the town hall, click here. You can also watch it live on the Jefferson City NAACP Facebook page.

Veterans Commission homes continue to fight coronavirus, 109 veterans dead since Sept. 1

November 24, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

St. Louis Veterans Home

The Missouri Veterans Commission’s Veterans Homes continue to fight COVID-19, and according to spokesman Jamie Melchert, they are continuing daily testing using PCR and antigen testing; training on the proper use of PPE and enhanced PPE; cleaning and disinfecting and enhanced training in these areas; infection control inspections and additional training; additional supervision, including from central office leadership. The commission’s homes are also using medical staffing from the VA and Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team (MO DMAT-1).

Nursing homes in the Midwest have seen dramatic increases in cases and deaths in past two weeks.

A total of 109 veterans in seven MVC homes have died due to COVID-19 from September through Nov. 18, as nursing homes across the Midwest have seen dramatic increases in cases and deaths in the past two weeks. About two-thirds of the COVID-19 deaths in Missouri’s nursing homes have happened in the same time frame. The St. Louis Post reported that as of Nov. 8, the virus has killed 1,680 residents, 263 more than just the previous two weeks.

Armstrong Teasdale corporate law firm began conducting an independent investigation of Missouri’s Veterans Homes on Oct. 12, at the request of Governor Mike Parson. A final report has not been released, but according to Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who oversees the commission, air flow systems were part of the challenge.

Kehoe emphasized that the state’s veterans homes suffer some of the same challenges that other long-term care facilities do.

“It’s a vulnerable population,” Kehoe said. “You have employees and vendors in those homes that actually go out and maybe have another job, or go out to their families and could contract the virus and bring it back in.”

Veteran deaths by facility between Sept. 1 and Nov. 18, 2020:

Cameron 37
Cape Girardeau 29
Mexico 5
Mt. Vernon 9
St. James 22
St. Louis 1
Warrensburg 7

Missouri officials talk about COVID-19 vaccine rollout

November 24, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield is one of three company locations in America set to make a COVID-19 vaccine. The drug maker has asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve emergency use of its immunization it says has been shown to be 95% effective.

Missouri officials talk about COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed – a national effort to fast track the vaccine rollout – says the plan is to ship vaccines to U.S. immunization sites 24 hours after federal approval. He tells CNN he expects that to happen around December 11 or 12. Slaoui says the efforts could get the U.S. back to normal life around May.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, tells Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly that the vaccine effort is moving quickly.

“Pfizer has applied for their use permit. We expect Moderna to do that within a couple of weeks. Between the two of them, they’ll have enough vaccine in December for the first 20 million Americans and they’re likely healthcare workers, people in nursing homes and people who would be the most at risk to get that vaccine. We expect a couple of other companies to quickly follow near the first of the year,” says Blunt. “After you get through that first group of healthcare workers and people most negatively affected, the next group – about 35% of the entire population – would be the essential workers of the country – people who are working at food processing facilities and grocery stores, daycare centers, school bus drivers, school teachers.”

According to Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Dr. Randall Williams, phase 1 of the state’s plan could reach 250,000 of the most vulnerable citizens.

The department has identified five hospital sites to administer the vaccine but has not yet announced the names. Williams says patients from long-term care centers and assisted living centers, for instance, will have to be transported to an immunization site.

Both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines require two doses at varying intervals.

The vaccine must be kept chilled at -94F and can only be removed from that temperature four times. It will be sent in batches every seven days.

Schatz: Missouri Senate to return next week; two senators who tested positive for COVID have recovered (AUDIO)

November 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Senate leader says two state senators and a Senate staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.

Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) briefs Capitol reporters on March 12, 2020 in Jefferson City, as Democratic Leader John Rizzo (D-Kansas City) and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) look on (file photo from Missourinet’s Alisa Nelson)

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the full Senate plans to return to Jefferson City next week.

“I haven’t spoken to both of them (the two state senators who tested positive for COVID) but I’ve spoken with one of those senators and he has fully recovered and feeling fine. And I do believe the other senator according to reports, that he is fine also and fully recovered,” Schatz says.

Schatz and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, announced last Monday that the Senate would postpone debate and votes on the proposed $1.2 billion supplemental budget until after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, due to the positive COVID cases. Schatz says that decision was not made lightly and was done in the best interest of protecting senators, staff members and the public.

Pro Tem Schatz tells Missourinet that the Senate will return next Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on the supplemental budget. He says the Senate needs two days to get it done, and that will include time for committee hearings.

“Our plan is we adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1,” says Schatz. “So we are planning to come back and take up some of the appropriations work that the House has sent over to us.”

The House approved the supplemental budget on November 10, on a bipartisan 133-4 vote. The budget deploys federal resources across numerous state departments.

It also provides more authority to spend federal dollars on personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing. It also addresses Missouri’s unemployment fund shortage.

Schatz expects a final vote on the supplemental budget next Wednesday. If the Senate approves it as is, it would go straight to the governor’s desk. If any changes are made, the budget would go to a conference committee.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, which was recorded on November 23, 2020:

Christmas tree from rural southeast Missouri to be displayed on Governor’s Mansion lawn in Jefferson City

November 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Christmas tree that will be displayed on the Governor’s Mansion lawn this year will be from a small town in southeast Missouri.

Missouri Office of Administration (OA) staff help install the Governor’s Mansion lawn Christmas tree in Jefferson City on December 2, 2019 (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Governor Mike Parson says the tree that will be displayed on the Mansion lawn is a 40-foot Norway spruce donated by Doris Baker, who’s from southeast Missouri’s Desloge. It’s a town of about 5,000 residents, near Farmington.

Ms. Baker has donated her tree because it became too large for her yard.

The tree will arrive in Jefferson City on Monday morning between 7 and 8, and it’s so big that part of Madison Street outside the mansion will be closed, when it arrives.

Missouri Office of Administration (OA) staff will install the Mansion lawn tree.

The governor’s office has also announced that the annual lighting of the tree will take place on Friday December 4, at 6 p.m. That will be followed by candlelight tours that evening until 8. This year’s candlelight tours will be by reservation-only, due to COVID concerns.

Governor Parson’s office says it will announce additional details about the tours early next week.

Columbia’s mayor touts radiopharmaceutical corridor and three massive construction projects (AUDIO)

November 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Columbia’s mayor says his fast-growing city and all of mid-Missouri will benefit greatly from three massive projects happening in the area.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (left) and Columbia Mayor Brian Treece (center) speak to businessman Greg Steinhoff on November 17, 2020 at a groundbreaking ceremony at Columbia Regional Airport (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Mayor Brian Treece notes that more than $500 million in new construction will be happening in the next 12 to 24 months, with some already underway.

“Between a new I-70 bridge at Rocheport, a $200 million NextGen precisional health complex, that will bring life saving cures to Columbia. And now a new $38 million airport terminal (at Columbia Regional). That’s great for mid-Missouri,” Treece says.

The NextGen Precision Health Institute, a $220 million facility, is under construction. It’s expected to train the next generation of scientists who will help Missouri address future health care needs.

The NextGen project is the UM System’s top capital priority, and enjoys bipartisan support in the Legislature from lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, and State Rep. (and State Sen.-Elect) Greg Razer, D-Kansas City.

Mizzou says researchers in medicine and engineering will work in the institute, to advance lifesaving research.

As for the I-70 Rocheport bridge, Missouri has received an $81 million federal grant to replace the current bridge, which was built in 1960. More than 12-million vehicles cross that bridge annually, including three million trucks.

Rocheport is just west of Columbia.

Mayor Treece also predicts that a new terminal that will be built at Columbia Regional Airport (COU) will be a generational investment that will pay big dividends in future economic development for his city and for central Missouri. The mayor says the terminal will also be huge for the University of Missouri.

“For new businesses that want to come to mid-Missouri, that want to take advantage of the University of Missouri’s nuclear reactor and building a radiopharmaceutical corridor right here in central Missouri for life-saving cures that we all benefit from,” says Treece.

The current COU terminal was built in 1968, and Columbia will soon begin flying to Charlotte. Mayor Treece says the new terminal will put further destinations in play, and says Atlanta and Phoenix are two major hub cities Columbia would like to fly to.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Columbia Mayor Brian Treece, which was recorded on November 17, 2020 at Columbia Regional Airport:

Mercy Springfield nurse says they’re running out of room for COVID and acute patients

November 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(Missourinet Springfield television partner KOLR-10 contributed to this story)

Springfield’s mayor and hospital leaders and employees there are renewing their call for a statewide mask mandate. They held a Friday afternoon press conference.

The Missouri National Guard assists at a COVID-19 testing site in Callaway County on November 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Mayor Ken McClure, a Republican who served as chief of staff to former Governor Matt Blunt, says that while guidelines are fine, people are not following them.

Mercy Hospital Springfield registered nurse Wanda Brown agrees, saying Springfield hospitals are overwhelmed.

“At Mercy Springfield, we now have four COVID units, one of which is our dedicated COVID ICU. All of our units are continually full and are becoming overwhelmed,” Brown tells reporters.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there are currently 2,817 COVID patients in Missouri hospitals, an increase of 83 from Friday. DHSS says 646 of those COVID patients are in the ICU, and 336 are on ventilators.

DHSS says there have been 24,570 new COVID cases in the past week, an average of 3,510 per day.

Ms. Brown says Mercy Springfield is running out of room for both COVID and acute patients.

“I know we have all heard statements made of how hospitals are not overwhelmed, and our ICU’s are not full. But this is untrue and it is misleading and I think it provides a false sense of security for our community,” says Brown.

Missourinet Springfield television partner KOLR-10 reports CoxHealth leaders also spoke at Friday’s press conference. You can read KOLR-10’s story here.

As for Governor Mike Parson, he told Missourinet last week that while he’s opposed to a mask mandate, he has and continues to urge you to wear a mask. He’s been promoting a program called the “Show Me You Care” campaign, which emphasizes the need for you to wear a mask, to wash your hands, practice good hygiene and to social distance.

During that interview with Missourinet, Governor Parson emphasized that the next 30 to 60 days are crucial. His administration has issued a statewide public health warning, due to the spread of COVID across the state.

Missouri is averaging 3,908 new COVID cases per day; public health warning issued

November 20, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Parson administration has issued a statewide public health warning, due to the continued increase in new COVID cases statewide.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) says there are currently 2,588 COVID patients in Missouri hospitals, an increase of 135 in the past 24 hours. 608 of those patients are in the ICU and 310 are on ventilators.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (right) visits a COVID-19 testing site in mid-Missouri’s Fulton on November 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

DHSS says there have been 27,358 new COVID cases in Missouri in the past week, an average of 3,908 new cases per day.

The department has also issued a holiday travel advisory, urging you to minimize travel outside of Missouri and to wear a mask.