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01.11.22

COVID-19 Update | January 11, 2022

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COVID-19 Update

Topic

  • COVID-19
  • Disease Management

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coronavirus COVID-19

This report from the Missouri Hospital Association is designed to help you stay abreast of recent developments related to COVID-19.

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Past issues are available in the Media Library.

Dashboard Spotlight

“Hospitals Are In Serious Trouble”

Staff Contact: Mat Reidhead or Jackie Gatz

As the headline in The Atlantic succinctly states, “Hospitals Are in Serious Trouble.” Hospitals in Missouri and around the country are facing record COVID-19 patient surges amid profound staffing shortages, fueled by the hyper-transmissible Omicron variant. Statewide, record-level COVID-19 hospitalizations for both adults and children have been notched since the beginning of the year. Led by the St. Louis and Kansas City regions, total COVID-19 hospitalizations currently stand at 114% of previous peak surge levels set in December 2020, while child and adolescent cases are 157% of previous peak levels.

Hospitals statewide currently are operating at capacity. As a result, patients are being boarded in emergency rooms — for days in some cases — as hospitals search across the country for available inpatient beds or ICU beds, and physicians issue desperate pleas of caution, not just in protection from COVID-19, but also in daily activities such as driving or climbing a ladder. The data are clear — public health fundamentals, including vaccination with booster, masking, physical distancing and hand hygiene, are effective at preventing severe illness requiring hospitalization and death.

Daily Total Suspected and Confirmed COVID-19 Hospitalizations in MO by Region (through 1/10/22)
Government Action
Clinical Guidance

Upcoming Events

Clinicians wanting additional details on new oral antiviral medications can participate in a CDC COCA call tomorrow. Topics will include when to prescribe the medications, how to address patient questions and how to prioritize patients if medication is in short supply.

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