As spring flowers bloom after a frigid winter, vaccination trackers are popping up alongside them.

In Springfield, these trackers are posted on street corners, including on Drury campus at the intersection of Central and Drury Lane. They’re a promising sight, but the road ahead is still a little unclear.

Sean Barnhill, public health information specialist with the Springfield-Green County Health Department, shared his insight on vaccination progress.

“As of Wednesday, April 14, 62,134 (26%) of Greene County residents 16+ have been fully vaccinated. Another 85,902 (36%) have been partially vaccinated,” he stated.

“[The] vaccine has played a significant role in suppressing COVID-19 case counts in Greene County. Our seven-day average is currently hovering around 20 cases. One month ago, that number was around 27. We expect this downward trend to continue as more people receive vaccine in our community,” Barnhill continued.

“All Missourians 16 years and older are currently eligible to receive the vaccine. This includes out-of-state college students who have a Springfield address. Individuals who are 16 or 17 years old may only receive the Pfizer vaccine.”

On Apr. 13, the CDC and FDA issued a joint statement to pause administering the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Of 6.8 million doses, six recipients reported the development of severe blood clot that required a different treatment than normal. This announcement was made after the vaccination mega-event at Missouri State campus on April 8-9 for the J&J vaccine.

“On April 13, the state of Missouri announced that it would follow recommendations from the CDC and FDA to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until further notice. Despite this pause, vaccine supply continues to be widely available. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are readily available in our community and both are very safe and effective. Anyone 16+ in Missouri who wants a vaccine can get one. Information on how to register for vaccine can be found at vaccine417.com.”

As of Apr. 15, there have been no reports of similar side effects from the MSU mega-event.

“With vaccination numbers increasing in our community, our hope is that we will be able to contain new outbreaks of the virus and its variants. However, there is always the possibility of cases increasing until enough people in our community are vaccinated,” Barnhill explained.

Social distancing and masks are still necessary. The city of Springfield announced mask ordinances would loosen once 50% of the population was vaccinated. After that, masking is still encouraged.

“This is why vaccine and masking continue to be vital in our fight against COVID-19. This is also why we continue to recommend that unvaccinated individuals remain masked anytime they are around individuals from outside their home.”

National trends

According to the CDC, there have been 250,998,265 vaccine doses delivered, and of those, 194,791,836 have been administered. Of those, there are 76,681,252 fully vaccinated people, which is about 23% of the population. In Missouri, there have been over 3 million vaccines administered, which is about 21% of those who are fully vaccinated.

Of people aged 18 or older, nearly 30% are fully vaccinated and nearly 48% are at least half vaccinated. Of people aged 65 or older, 63% are fully vaccinated and nearly 80% are at least half vaccinated. While these numbers are good and continually rising, COVID-19 cases in the past 30 days have seen an uptick in the US. That’s why it’s important to be vaccinated before loosening too many restrictions.

Campus responses

Universities with larger student populations are announcing a return to full in-person classes for fall 2021. Vaccination rates among faculty and students play a huge role in these decisions – colleges are banking on the assumption that the majority will have their shots when the next semester rolls around.

“This decision will be left up to each individual university. Even if vaccine is not required, the Health Department recommends that everyone 16+ get vaccinated to protect themselves and others,” Barnhill said.

Required vaccines for education are nothing new. Drury requires the meningococcal vaccine, and documentation of other shots against diseases like tetanus, measles and polio are mandated in Missouri.

On Drury’s Covid-19 dashboard, a Pouncer illustration measures campus vaccination progress. As of April 15, it sits at 15%. The charts measuring Covid cases now sit below line graphs of increasing vaccination rates among students and faculty.

“[The v]accine is the best defense we have against this virus and its variants. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible so our community can return to a sense of normalcy,” said Barnhill.

Individuals interested in vaccine should first complete the Missouri Vaccine Navigator registration and obtain a patient ID at covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator. Individuals will then receive an email or text with information on how to schedule an appointment near them. A calendar of public vaccination events can be found at vaccine417.com. For help with registering or scheduling an appointment, people can call the Health Department’s COVID-19 call center at (417) 874-1211.

Article by Maclen Johnson