By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Mosaic Life Care is reporting a decline in the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in its system.
Hospitalizations under the Delta Variant surge headed toward 60 patients total in St. Joseph, Maryville, and Albany. It fell to 45 at the beginning of August and now is at 16 with 15 hospitalized in St. Joseph and one in Maryville.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Davin Turner, says those 21 patients are isolated with 16 other coronavirus patients no longer contagious and no longer in isolation. Still, far fewer than earlier.
“At our max during this surge, we were up – when you add those two together – in the 80 range, roughly,” Turner tells reporters during a news availability. “So, right now, our positivity rate for our system is running just short of 10%. Last week, last Friday, was the first day we had been on the two-week running average under a 10% positivity rate in, as I mentioned, 16 weeks.”
The drop in hospitalizations mirrors the drop in the Buchanan County positivity rate to slightly more than 6%.
“So, it certainly is good to see that the numbers are going down,” Turner says. “We continue to be very watchful around here as to what is our positivity rate and, presently, we have no other variants. Again, as I mentioned, what we were told by the state we are 100% Delta (variant).”
Even as the pandemic trend starts to look up, a new drug manufacturer has announced development of the latest chemical to be introduced in the on-going fight at COVID-19.
Merck announced it has developed an experimental antiviral pill that lessens the effects of COVID-19.
Turner welcomes the announcement, but cautions that the pill is no substitute for the coronavirus vaccine.
“But the vaccine is still the best first defense you have and I think that needs to be the take home message,” Turner says. “Just because they came out with Tamiflu, they don’t tell you to not to get your flu vaccine, do they? No. Every year, get your flu vaccine. That’s your first, best step; first step. Same with COVID. Your best first step, be vaccinated.”
Turner says he welcomes the development, because it gives medical workers another tool in the fight against COVID-19, pointing out the medical field had no tools when the pandemic began.
Mosaic Life Care will reopen its Community Vaccine Site at East Hills Mall to give the booster shot to those who earlier received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Mosaic will begin providing the booster shot at the old Gordman’s store location, beginning at 8:30 Friday, the 15th. It is only for those who received the Pfizer vaccine and are in the COVID high-risk categories or work in high-risk occupations.
Mosaic will hold a booster event at Albany High School in partnership with Tri County Public Health October 18th. Mosaic plans a community booster event November 9th in Maryville at the Hughes Fieldhouse on the Northwest Missouri State University campus.
Federal Drug Administration approval of booster shots for the Moderna as well as the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines is pending.