News Staff

Seventeen new COVID-19 cases confirmed by the Adair County Health Department Tuesday and six more yesterday bring the overall case count to 2,192. There are 89 people in isolation, 2,083 people who have left isolation and 20 COVID-related deaths. Of the new cases, 14 are in the higher education sector and seven reside at addresses with at least one other confirmed case. A 64-year-old male was admitted to Boone Hospital in Columbia on February 1st and is not requiring use of a ventilator.

The Sullivan County Health Department’s Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Pre-Registration for tomorrow’s clinic at Northeast Rural Electric Co-Op is complete. The Health Department does not have a waiting list for the vaccine. They will continue issue press releases to get the word out about future vaccine clinics.

Kirksville police are warning about residential renting scams. According to KPD, over the past few days they’re getting reports where people were asked to wire or digitally transmit funds of $50-60 dollars to cover what was reported as an application fee for a rental property the 700 block of East Randolph Street in Kirksville. In one instance after transferring the requested fee the victim noted there was an “international tax fee” indicating the money was sent out of the United States. Application fees are common practice for landlords and rental agencies that are designed to cover the out-of-pocket costs associated with running a credit check and criminal history scan. Someone offering a rental who does not want to talk in person, gives few details or does not offer to allow you to view the property in person, should be considered suspicious.

Main Street Kirksville is looking for people to serve in one of four subcommittees: organization, promotion, design, and economic vitality. If you are interested, send a message to the organization at facebook.com/downtownkirksville

While Adair County continues COVID vaccination efforts, health officials want to make sure residents are aware of an important part of the process. Jim LeBaron, Adair County Health Department administrator says the key to the distribution of more vaccine doses among more entities is understanding that for now, individuals should not mix vaccines.

Both current two-dose vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are mRNA vaccines; however, there has not been sufficient research to determine how mixing them might inhibit the effectiveness of the vaccine. LeBaron says for now, if your first dose was the Pfizer vaccine, your second dose should be the Pfizer vaccine. If your first dose was the Moderna vaccine, your second dose should be the Moderna vaccine.

LeBaron adds that while you need to stick with a single vaccine maker for both doses, you don’t have to stick with the same entity distributing the doses.

The Putman County Health Department is receiving 300 doses of Moderna vaccine this week and will be holding vaccine clinics in their office this Thursday, February 4th and Friday, February 5th. These clinics will be by appointment only and the health department will schedule appointments starting this morning. You can call their main line and dial 0 to schedule. The office only has 4 phone lines available, so they ask that you be patient. If you call in and receive a busy signal hang up and try again until you can get through.

17 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed by the Adair County Health Department yesterday. That brings the number of total cases to 2,186. The new cases included nine females ranging from age 19 to 59, and eight males ranging from age 20 to 64. The health department will provide more details in tomorrow’s update.

Seven new COVID-19 cases confirmed over the weekend and nine more cases yesterday brings Adair County’s case count to 2,169. The County also recorded another death on January 31st, an 83-year-old female who was admitted to Northeast Regional Medical Center on January 15th.
There are currently 20 COVID-related deaths. The health department says the county has 90 active cases and 2,059 people who have left isolation. Two patients were discharged from Northeast Regional on January 31, including an 81-year-old male admitted on January 23 and a 73-year-old male admitted on January 26th. Neither required a ventilator during their inpatient stays.

As production of COVID-19 vaccines ramp up, availability to Adair County residents will expand. The Adair County Health Department is prepared and will continue to vaccinate residents as it receives doses. It will also continue to provide information about COVID-19, testing and vaccines, including information about accessing vaccines administered by other local entities.

Jim LeBaron, Adair County Health Department administrator says, “The most important thing that can happen in Adair County is having vaccine doses shipped to and administered by more and more providers.” He added that in addition to the health department’s Curbside Clinics, having other vaccinators, including healthcare providers and local pharmacies, receiving, and administering doses is a game changer.

LeBaron says if you have emailed the Adair County Health Department to be placed on their waiting list, but have another opportunity to register for a vaccine, take advantage of that other opportunity.

There is over $1 billion in unclaimed property in the state – could some of it belong to you? Yesterday was National Unclaimed Property Day and Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is encouraging Missourians to check to see if they might be 1 out of 10 residents who have unclaimed assets. Go to showmemoney.com to see.