Governor Mike Parson terminated Executive Order 2002 ending the State of Emergency that had been in effect since March 13, 2020. “In the nearly 18 months we operated under this Executive Order, we have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing unprecedented levels of resources and support,” Governor Parson said. “This Order enabled us to respond to the […]
Tag: illness
Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Center opens in Cameron
The Northwest Missouri Healthcare Coalition has opened a monoclonal antibody infusion center in Cameron, Missouri. The mAB Infusion Center opened on August 25 and will operate for the next thirty days, or longer if needed, at 214 McElwain Drive (old Cameron Mutual building) in Cameron, Missouri. The purpose of the Cameron mAB Infusion Center is […]
Vaccinated Missourians win $10,000 in first round of state’s vaccine incentive program drawings
Governor Mike Parson announced the winners of the first drawing of the MO VIP. At the time of the August 13 drawing, a total of 495,296 MO VIP entries were received. The MO VIP incentivizes vaccination for those who have not yet been vaccinated, as well as provides an opportunity for rewards for the more […]
Audio: White House responds to Missouri Attorney General’s lawsuit vs. Mask Mandates
The Missouri Attorney General’s lawsuit against mask mandates, in any school district, got the attention of the White House Tuesday. Schmitt says a mandate “flies in the face of science, especially given children’s low risk of severe illness and death and their low risk of transmission. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a press […]
Children’s Mercy Hospital doctor responds to Missouri Attorney General’s lawsuit banning mask mandates in schools
A children’s hospital doctor is responding to the Missouri Attorney General’s lawsuit that aims to ban schools from requiring students and staff to wear masks. Dr. Jennifer Watts of Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City says the hospital is strongly advocating to keep children in school. Attorney General Eric Schmitt is suing Columbia […]
Missouri Attorney General files class action lawsuit against school districts forcing masks on kids
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today filed a class-action lawsuit against school districts forcing a mask mandate on schoolchildren and teachers. The lawsuit, which is a reverse class action that was filed earlier this morning, names Columbia Public Schools, the Board of Education for the School District of Columbia and their board members, and the […]
Meatpacking plants have long relied on immigrant labor. Some now turn to foreign visa workers
(Missouri Independent) – Colored hard hats distinguish different roles and jobs at Seaboard Foods, a major meatpacking plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Senior management have green. Supervisors wear dark blue. Foreign workers on visas don yellow-green. But Seaboard is part of a small but growing trend in the meatpacking industry, which already largely relied on an […]
Case of Legionnaires’ disease reported in Bethany
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, in collaboration with the Harrison County Health Department, is advising recent guests of the Quality Inn & Suites located at 496 S. 39th Street in Bethany, Missouri, of a potential health concern related to possible exposures to Legionella bacteria. DHSS received notification that an individual diagnosed with Legionnaires’ […]
AARP calls for vaccine mandates as COVID re-enters Missouri nursing homes
(Missouri Indepentent) – With cases on the rise among both residents and staff, the nation’s leading advocacy group for retirees is calling on nursing homes to mandate COVID-19 vaccines. The number of COVID-19 cases reported each week in Kansas and Missouri nursing homes is rising again for the first time in months. Missouri, where weekly […]
Governor Parson announces nearly 500,000 MO VIP entries
Governor Mike Parson announced an official total of 495,296 MO VIP entries for the first drawing, which will take place today. The MO VIP incentivizes vaccination for those who have not yet been vaccinated, as well as provides an opportunity for rewards for the more than 3 million Missourians who have already made the decision […]
Judge orders state to immediately allow Missourians to enroll in expanded Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem sided with the plaintiffs who urged him to allow Medicaid expansion to take […]
Trenton Board of Education discusses COVID-19 protocols during lengthy meeting
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on August 10th discussed COVID-19-related matters for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Mike Stegman began by going over a list of protocols. They included staff and students attending school in person and using social distancing. Masks will be optional for staff and students inside district facilities. It is “highly […]
Additional ambulances to support hospitals across the state of Missouri
Governor Mike Parson announced that Missouri is tripling the number of mutual aid ambulances that provide long-haul patient transfers to help reduce the rising COVID-19 caseloads straining hospitals. Thirty ambulances and more than 60 trained personnel began arriving in five regions of the state on Friday, August 6, 2021. “The ambulance strike teams we positioned […]
Missouri AG files suit against Kansas City over mask mandate; obtains restraining order, halts St. Louis County mandate
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today filed a lawsuit to halt the recently imposed mask mandate in Kansas City. The suit, which was filed this afternoon in Jackson County, argues that the mask mandate imposed is unreasonable, unconstitutional, and arbitrary, and capricious. The suit names Mayor Quinton Lucas, the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department, and […]
Fight over mask orders growing at rate to rival Missouri Delta variant cases
(Missouri Independent) – Politicians are fighting over masks. Public health officials are begging people to get vaccinated. And meanwhile, the Delta variant continues to spread almost unchecked in the state. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones defended their mask mandates during separate appearances Wednesday. Page held a press conference […]
Missouri’s vaccine incentive program promotes MO ABLE as an option for Missourians with disabilities
The Department of Health and Senior Services recently rolled out the new MO VIP Program, the state’s vaccine incentive program that rewards those Missourians who have chosen or will choose to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Starting this month, DHSS will partner with the Missouri Lottery to draw 180 winners in each of five randomized drawings […]
Grundy County reports 15 new cases of COVID-19; Livingston and Mercer Counties report new cases as well
The Grundy County Health Department reports 15 new COVID-19 cases have been added since July 21st, bringing the total to 1,309. Of the 36 active cases, 14 involve residents between the ages of 40 and 64, 12 involve those from 20 to 39, eight involve those 19 or younger, and two involve residents at least […]
National Weather Service issues Heat Advisory for Saturday
We often think of the period from July 3rd to August 11th as the “Dog Days of Summer.” Some say that it signifies hot sultry days “not fit for a dog.” The Dog Days of Summer describes the most oppressive period of summer and it is certainly going to feel that way over the next […]
Missouri Supreme Court rules voter-approved Medicaid expansion is constitutional
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
Texas Department of State Health and CDC confirm Monkeypox in U.S. traveler
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed on July 15 a case of human monkeypox in a U.S. resident who recently traveled from Nigeria to the United States. The person is currently hospitalized in Dallas. CDC is working with the airline and state and local health officials to contact airline passengers and others who […]