COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to climb in Boone County, worrying some local health officials.
As of the afternoon of July 14, there were 458 active COVID-19 cases in the community and 92 individuals hospitalized. Only 21 of those hospitalized are Boone County residents, but that’s a 320% increase from just two weeks ago.
Sara Humm, the public information specialist for Columbia/Boone County Public Health & Human Services, said she’s concerned about the continued rise.
“There's this sense of ‘things are back to normal’ in the way that people are living their lives, but in the way that COVID is acting, we maybe shouldn't be,” Humm said.
The Health Department also announced today on Facebook that since late last year, 125 Boone County residents have been reinfected with the coronavirus. Of those reinfected, zero had received any dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
They stressed in the post that this shows natural immunity may not be enough protection against the virus, “so getting the COVID-19 vaccine is still important.”
“If someone is on the fence about getting vaccinated or not, you know, I feel like that number of 90% of people who are testing positive lately, are not fully vaccinated,” Humm said. “I feel like those odds are pretty good that if you get vaccinated, there's still a slight chance that you might test positive, but your chance of serious illness is very, very slim.”
Boone County currently has the highest rate of vaccination in the state – with 45.8 percent of folks completely vaccinated, which Humm said is great, but still lags behind the national average.
More than 51% of the county’s population has initiated vaccination, and Humm said that as time has gone on, the Department’s vaccination efforts have shifted to focus on community-based vaccination clinics in neighborhoods, churches, and during community events.
“So, even though sometimes those numbers are a little low, we're still vaccinating people who are not already vaccinated,” Humm said. “And for us, that's a win because our focus on public health is serving folks especially in those areas where resources maybe aren't as available. So, for people who have issues with transportation or broadband internet.”
According to the Health Department, they have administered 9,757 doses across 135 community outreach venues since January 8, 2021.
Humm said for those interested in getting vaccinated, there’s lots of locations and numerous opportunities – including Saturday at A Cut Above the Rest Hair Salon and during this weekend’s Show-Me State Games.
You can find more opportunities at https://www.como.gov/covidvaccine/.
