KIRX News

A third attempt for the regionial COVID-19 vaccine event is set. The Adair County Health Department has been notified that the regional COVID-19 vaccine event postponed twice due to weather, has been rescheduled again for Thursday, February 25th, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. at The Crossing, in Kirksville.

The Adair County Health Department, local and regional healthcare and community partners, and the Missouri National Guard will be coordinating the mass vaccination
.
Those who registered for the February 10th and/or February 18th event should keep the same
scheduled appointment time. This regional event is for adults age 65 and older, and those 18 and older who are high risk individuals. Also, any remaining long-term and residential care workers, hospital and healthcare workers, and emergency workers / first responders.

The Moderna vaccine will be administered on Feb. 25. All participants should bring their signed consent form with them. Those forms are available on the Adair County Health Department’s website under the “Forms” tab or may be picked up at the Adair County Health Department’s clinic entrance.

The Adair County Health Department confirmed seven new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. New cases include females ages 21, 26 and 59, and males ages 2, 19, 22 and 51. Two cases are in the higher education sector and three reside at addresses with at least one other confirmed case. Total case count is now 2,286 with 37 active cases and 2,229 people who have left
isolation.

The Adair County Health Department has revised its quarantine guidelines for people who have had close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. The health department’s Board of Trustees approved a resolution to reduce the quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days, following revised guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The health department will continue contact tracing of individuals who test positive for the virus and their household contacts, advising them to isolate or quarantine as needed. Health department staff will no longer contact close contacts of positive cases who do not live in the same household.

People who test positive are now instructed to notify everyone with whom they have had close contact to ask them to quarantine for 10 days. See more details about the revised quarantine guidlines on the Adair County Health Department’s Facebook page.

The clinic for the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Adair County has been rescheduled. The Adair County Health Department’s administration of the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine will happen on Wednesday, February 24th, at The Crossing in Kirksville. The second dose is only for those who received their first dose on January 27, not for the general public. The clinic is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Vaccine recipients should arrive at The
Crossing at the same time as their first dose was scheduled on January 27th. T

here is no charge for the vaccine; however, Medicare beneficiaries are asked to bring their Medicare card with them to the clinic.

Frigid winter weather forced the postponement of the second dose administration
originally scheduled for this week. While the CDC recommends the second dose of
the Pfizer vaccine be administered at least 21 days after the first dose, Jim LeBaron, the Adair County Health Department administrator says there is no issue with getting the second dose more than 21 days after the first.

As the vaccine events originally slated for this week in Kirksville have bee postponed, people are anxious to know when they will be rescheduled. On Monday evening, the Governor’s office canceled the regional vaccine event which had been scheduled to take place on Thursday, citing the winter weather. Upon cancelation of that event, the Adair County Health Department postponed the event scheduled for today for administration of the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to those who received the first dose on January. 27th.

Jim LeBaron, Adair County Health Department administrator, says the vaccine clinics require substantial planning, site configuration and significant human resources from area healthcare providers, first responders and law enforcement, among others. Logistically, the two vaccine clinics need to occur on two consecutive days to optimize resources. LeBaron says they are waiting now waiting to find out when the National Guard plans to reschedule the regional vaccine effort so the health department can reschedule the second-dose clinic for the day before.

As soon as the Health Department is advised of the date the Missouri National Guard will be in Kirksville for the regional vaccine clinic, the public will be notified of the rescheduling details for both efforts.

The Adair County Health Department confirmed 19 new cases of COVID-19 from Friday, Feb. 12 through yesterday. The total case count now stands at 2,277 with 46 active cases currently, 2,211 people who have left isolation, and 20 COVID-related deaths. Eight cases were confirmed on February 12th, including females ages 14, 19, 21, 28, 43 and 67, and males ages 19 and 22.
There was only one case confirmed on February 13, a 71-year-old male, and one on February 14, a 14-year-old female. Four cases on February 15th include a 21-year-old female and males ages 20, 21 and 51. The five new cases confirmed yesterday include females ages 20 and 21 and males ages 19, 25 and 65. Among the 19 new cases, eight reside at addresses with at least one other confirmed case. Two are in the K-12 schools sector and 10 are in the higher education sector.

Governor Mike Parson announced that all COVID-19 mass vaccination events in partnership with the Missouri National Guard, Department of Health and Senior Services, and State Emergency Management Agency scheduled through Friday, are being canceled in the interest of safety due to extreme winter weather. This includes the 2 mass vaccination events that were scheduled for tomorrow and Thursday at The Crossing in Kirsksville. Governor Parson said the state is making every effort to reschedule these events. Missourians scheduled to receive a vaccine this week through other providers should check with their vaccinator for any potential schedule changes.

Ameren Missouri is encouraging natural gas conservation during this extended cold period. Due to the winter storms and low temperatures across the Midwest, the demand for natural gas has been peaking. Pam Harrison, director of gas operations for Ameren Missouri says the prudent use of natural gas will also help customers save money during this extended cold period. Tips to reduce natural gas usage: set your thermostat as low as is comfortable and turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting.

Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop B is advising people to stay home if possible. With extremely cold temperatures this morning, officials say if you don’t need to travel, don’t. If you do please take precautionary measures to make it to your destination. Driver license examination stations in Troop B are closed today due to the weather.

Macon Municipal Utilities is also urging its customers to conserve energy as historic sub-zero temperatures are forcing an increase in energy usage which is placing a strain on energy supply and in some states, impacting power grids. Energy providers in the Kansas City and St. Joseph areas have been implementing temporary blackouts in 30-minute increments to conserve energy.