New coronavirus vaccine partnership announced

COVID-19 vaccination plans continue to evolve at a rapid pace.

Gov. Mike Parson's office announced this week a new partnership -- Federal Retail Pharmacy Program -- that will result in a number of Walmart and Health Mart pharmacies across the state receiving vaccine doses. A release from the governor's office said 81 Walmart locations and 21 Health Mart locations, chosen by federal officials, will begin receiving vaccine doses this week. The doses will be above the state's regular vaccine allotment. This program is separate from a partnership between the federal government and CVS and Walgreens pharmacies to provide vaccine doses to residents and staff of long-term care facilities.

Parson touted National Guard-supported mass vaccination clinics as boosting the percentage of Missourians who have received a vaccine dose.

"Thanks to the hard work of our National Guard members, state workers, and local health care partners, Missouri had a very successful week in administering vaccines," he said. "While we still have a long way to go and vaccine supply remains limited, each day we are one step closer to achieving our goal of getting vaccines into the arms of every Missourian who wants one."

About 9% of the state's residents have received at least one vaccine dose. The state is still in the first phase of a three-phase vaccine plan. Those eligible to receive a vaccine dose include health care workers, emergency services providers and those with health conditions putting them at special risk.

For more information about the state's vaccination plan, visit MOStopsCOVID.com.

Local numbers

According to Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, as of Monday, there were 26 COVID-19 patients in Cape Girardeau hospitals. Five of those patients were on ventilators.

The latest available virus statistics for counties in the region:

• Bollinger: 1,332 total case, 18 active cases, 16 deaths
• Cape Girardeau: 9,118 total cases, 1,005 active cases, 132 deaths
• Perry: 2,338 total cases, 30 active cases, 32 deaths
• Scott: 3,811 total cases, 482 active cases, 76 deaths
• Stoddard: 2,926 total cases, 36 active cases, 62 deaths
• Alexander (Illinois): 422 total cases, 19 active cases, six deaths
• Union (Illinois): 2,096 total cases, 91 active cases, 25 deaths.