County's vaccination rate falls behind state, nation

A few months ago, Cape Girardeau County had one of highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Missouri, but that is no longer the case.

"Interest (in vaccinations) has waned a little bit, quite a bit actually, from where it was in December," Jane Wernsman, director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center told the center's Board of Trustees at the board's monthly meeting Tuesday.

As of this week, Wernsman said 34.9% of the county's residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, while about 30.5% are now fully vaccinated against the virus.

"But the county is falling a little below the State of Missouri and the United States for vaccine doses," she said.

Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this week about 61% of the nation's adult population has received at least one vaccine dose and half the nation is now fully vaccinated.

In Missouri, 41.5% of the population has received at least one dose and 33.7% of the state is fully vaccinated, according to the state's latest vaccination tracking data.

In Cape Girardeau County, there have been 9,544 reported cases of COVID-19 and 134 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020. As of Tuesday, there were just 12 active cases in the county and the county's 14-day coronavirus positivity rate had fallen to 4.9%, substantially below where it was for much of last year.

The county's public health center is one of 25 approved vaccine providers in Cape Girardeau County including a number of other medical facilities and pharmacies. "We continue to have vaccination opportunities every Wednesday and Friday at the health center and we're still doing some outreach and targeting some spots in the county that have asked us to come," she said. "As far as the health center is concerned, we're trying to be as responsive as we can be to the (county's) needs."

Asked what the health center can do to promote vaccine interest, Wernsman said "one thought is to work with primary care providers (including pediatricians) and have them talk with individuals."

A community member attending the meeting said more information should be provided to the public about vaccine efficacy and potential side effects, noting there have been some adverse reactions to shots administered through the county health center.

Of the 16,343 vaccine doses administered to date through the health center, there have been five adverse reactions. However, Wernsman did not elaborate on the seriousness of those reactions.

The board was also asked whether it was requiring employees and customers of local businesses to wear face masks. While some area businesses have maintained face mask requirements, the board voted in March to rescind a face covering mandate in Cape Girardeau County that had been in place since last summer. According to the health center's website, county residents are reminded to "follow CDC guidelines" pertaining to mask usage.

Earlier in the meeting, board member John Freeze was unanimously elected to serve as board chairman, succeeding Roland Sanders who died in January. Georganne Syler accepted the board's nomination to continue serving as vice chairwoman while recently-elected board member Eric Becking was elected to serve as the body's secretary/treasurer.

In other business Tuesday, the Board of Trustees voted to accept a bid of $72,135 from Boulder Construction to replace the health center's 32-year-old roof.

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