Pettis County added 98 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 11,7882, according to the Pettis County Health Center.
There were a number of late reported cases this week. The number of new cases is 28.
“The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services website is reporting Pettis County has a positivity rate of 4.7% for the past seven days as compared to 6.3% for last week with PCR testing,” the Pettis County COVID-19 Task Force briefing stated on Tuesday. “The case count per 100,000 for the past seven days is 43/100,000. This week there were 424 PCR tests and 276 antigen tests for a total of 700. Last week there were 628 tests. At this time, the counts do not include home test results.”
The briefing states the rapid decrease in positive cases may lead to the belief that the pandemic is over.
“The virus is still circulating in the community and over half of the population remains unvaccinated,” the briefing continued. “Everyone needs to consider their risk for exposure to the virus and take the needed measures to protect themselves and their family. We need to remain vigilant for any signs of increasing cases.”
The vaccine breakthrough for the week ending March 6 is 21 out of 49 cases counted for a breakthrough rate of 42%. Of the vaccinated cases, 11 had received a booster dose.
Influenza cases continue to increase. As of March 7, there were 720 cases of influenza reported.
As of Friday, there were 1,032 hospitalized in Missouri with COVID as compared to 1,323 hospitalized with COVID last week. There are 182 people in ICU as compared to 247 people in ICU last week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new guidance regarding mask-wearing based upon the risk for your county. Pettis County is currently in the green or low-risk category. The guidance for a low-risk county is as follows: Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if you have symptoms. Anyone should feel comfortable wearing a mask and high-risk individuals should check with their doctor.
There are no individuals hospitalized at Bothwell Regional Health Center as compared to four last week. The DHSS website reports 123 deaths in Pettis County with a confirmed PCR test and 31 deaths with a positive antigen test. This is an increase of three since last week.
Approximately 47.2% of the population of Pettis County residents have started vaccination. According to the state website, 19,988 Pettis County residents have started vaccination and 17,953 have had at least two doses, which are approximately 42.4% of the population. Pettis County is falling behind the state rate of 63.3% who have started vaccination and 56.2% have received at least two doses. The state is reporting 74.3% of the population over 18 has started and 66.2% have received at least two doses. For Pettis County, 58.8% of the population 18 and over have started vaccination (18,754) and 53% (16,901) have received at least two doses. According to the DHSS website, 16.3% (1,232) of 5-17-year-olds have started vaccination and 13.9% (1,051) have received two doses. For the 65 and older age group, 80% (5,796) have started vaccination and 72.9% (5,284) have received at least two doses. Only 116 Pettis County residents received a vaccine last week.
Pettis County Health Center will begin reaching out to people who have not completed the vaccine series or received a booster. They will work with community members to set up times and locations to make completing the vaccine series as easy as possible.
Pettis County Health Center has regular walk-in clinics from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays. They are available to provide vaccines to homebound individuals and at places of employment. If there is an increased demand for vaccines, they will provide additional opportunities.
Due to a decrease in demand for outpatient COVID-19 treatments, Bothwell has closed its centralized outpatient management clinic and treatments are now ordered by local physicians from their clinics.
This week’s Bothwell COVID-19 vaccine clinic for the Pfizer two-dose primary series and booster doses is from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 10 at Bothwell Health Center Truman Lake in Warsaw. People may walk in, however, appointments are encouraged by calling 660-829-8888 or scheduling in Bothwell’s patient portal.
The Pfizer vaccine is available for children aged 5 to 11. People who want the vaccine for their child in that age group can make appointments at Bothwell TLC Pediatrics from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday by calling 660-829-5852 or 660-829-8888 or at Bothwell Health Center-Truman Lake in Warsaw from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays by calling 660-438-6800.
Katy Trail Community Health is providing Pfizer vaccine to community members on Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 6 p.m. at 816 Westwood Drive. Visit www.katyhealth.org to schedule a vaccine.
