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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Dashboard Spotlight

Key COVID-19 Metrics Reveal Encouraging Trend In Missouri, Local Variation Concerning

Staff Contact: Mat Reidhead or Jackie Gatz

The fourth COVID-19 surge brought the national spotlight on the pernicious effects of the Delta variant to Missouri in late summer 2021. During that period, COVID-19 activity in the state — as measured by new cases, testing positivity rates and deaths — approached statistical thresholds not surpassed since the prolonged surge the state experienced during the late fall and winter of 2020-2021. Since the last week in September, new COVID-19 cases, testing positivity rates and deaths in Missouri each have fallen below the weekly average levels experienced statewide since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Unfortunately, the weekly number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Missouri has remained below average since late May 2021.

While the overall levels of community transmission in Missouri continue to recede, there are several counties throughout the state experiencing continued elevated levels.

Sullivan County in north central Missouri had the highest estimated risk during the previous two weeks with 17% of tests returning a positive result (compared with 5.5% statewide), 16.4 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 (versus 0.59 statewide), 394 new cases per 100,000 (versus 215 statewide) and only 920 vaccine doses administered per 100,000 residents (versus 2,443 statewide).
Mercer County, which adjoins Sullivan County to the northwest, experienced the highest testing positivity rate over the previous two weeks at 18.9%.
Atchison County in the far northwest corner of the state had the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases over the previous two weeks at 525 per 100,000 residents.
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered during the previous two weeks ranged from 468 per 100,000 residents in Putnam County to 7,179 in Jackson County, a difference of 15-fold.

Government Action

HHS Extends Federal Public Health Emergency Declaration

Staff Contact: Sarah Willson or Jane Drummond

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services renewed the public health emergency set to expire Wednesday, Oct. 20. Due to the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary extended the PHE through Jan. 22, 2022. As a reminder, Gov. Parson signed an executive order on Aug. 27 extending the state of emergency for certain entities in Missouri through Friday, Dec. 31. MHA will continue to monitor approved waivers on the state and federal level, and communicate changes to members as available.

Vaccine Updates

CDC Hosts Call On COVID-19 Booster Vaccines

Staff Contact: Kara Amann-Kale or Keri Barclay

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is hosting a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity call at 1 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Oct. 26, to provide an overview of the most recent recommendations for administering COVID-19 booster vaccines. The CDC also will discuss the latest recommendations and clinical considerations for administering COVID-19 boosters.

CMS Posts AHA COVID-19 Vaccination Webinar Slides

Staff Contact: Jessica Stultz or Sherry Buschjost

Available on the Quality Reporting Center are the presentation slides from an Oct. 12 webinar hosted by the American Hospital Association that discussed the COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel measure. The presenters from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and National Healthcare Safety Network provided details on the new measure, including numerator, denominator, category description, and data submission and reporting requirements, as well as screenshots from the NHSN platform.

Data & Analytics

Oversight Of HHS Protect System To Transition To CDC

Staff Contact: Carissa Van Hunnik or Jackie Gatz

On Oct. 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services signed off on a recommendation to transition the oversight and management of the HHS Protect system from their own Office of the Chief Information Officer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MHA staff continue to monitor for additional information and will provide updates as they become available. At this time, no impact to reporting and submission of COVID-19 data is expected.

Noteworthy

Study Highlights Air Filtration On COVID-19 Surge Units

Staff Contact: Keri Barclay

A recent study finds effective removal of SARS-CoV-2 from surge areas is achievable through the use of high efficiency particulate air filters and ultraviolet lights. These data demonstrate the feasibility of removing SARS-CoV-2 from the air of repurposed ‘surge’ wards and suggest that air filtration devices may help reduce the risk of hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 Update | October 19, 2021

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

Dashboard Spotlight

Key COVID-19 Metrics Reveal Encouraging Trend In Missouri, Local Variation Concerning