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Missouri reports 2,854 new cases of COVID-19. CVS releases data on nursing home vaccinations

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 1/6/2021

Jan. 6—ST. LOUIS — As Missouri reported an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on Wednesday, CVS Health released data showing that more than 100 long-term care facilities in the state have received the first doses of vaccine.

Missouri reported 2,854 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, up from 2,632 the day before. The state's pace of new infections has declined from a peak in late November, when the seven-day average of new cases hit a record 4,723.

The Department of Health and Senior Services reported 2,738 hospitalized COVID-19 patients statewide, up from 2,658 the day before. Hospitalizations have remained on a steady, high plateau since late November, with the seven-day average remaining between 2,600 and 2,800. Missouri hospitalization data lags three days, and not every hospital reports every day.

The state also reported 33 more deaths due to the virus.

CVS said on Wednesday that it expects to finish administering the first round of COVID-19 vaccine doses in the nation's long-term care facilities by Jan. 25. Pharmacists will visit each facility three times, to administer the first and second doses to staff and residents. Missouri has allocated the vaccine from biotech company Moderna to nursing homes, and it requires two doses, 28 days apart.

CVS is slated to administer vaccinations in more than 600 long-term care facilities in Missouri in total, and has so far completed the first doses in 103.

The company released data Wednesday morning showing that it has completed first COVID-19 vaccine doses in 87 skilled nursing facilities in Missouri, for a total of 5,365 vaccinations, and has 70 more locations scheduled in the upcoming week. In assisted living and other long-term care facilities, the company has completed first doses in 16 locations, for a total of 482 vaccinations, with 83 more locations scheduled over the next week.

When the vaccines are available for wider distribution, the company said in a press release, they will be available at CVS Pharmacy locations. CVS said prioritized patients could potentially receive the first vaccinations there as soon as March or April, but "timing is purely speculative."

Missouri's first group for vaccinations includes patient-facing health care workers and long-term care facility staff and residents. The next group will include individuals with medical conditions that place them at higher risk, residents over the age of 65, first responders, and essential workers.

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