June 13, 2022
Kirksville, MO 6/13/22 – There may no longer be long lines of Adair County residents waiting in their vehicles to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but vaccinations continue to be administered. Vaccines have been approved for those ages 5 and older and data from clinical trials of doses for children under age 5 is under review.
COVID-19 has resulted in the reported deaths of more than 1 million people in the United States. Scientists, epidemiologists, and public health officials say that like the flu, COVID-19 is here to stay. Also like the flu, it mutates all the time. That is why the flu vaccine is reformulated annually, designed to target specific variants of the virus. Already, researchers have begin trialing new COVID-19 vaccines designed to more effectively target the Omicron variants.
“The current COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide effective protection against infection, serious illness, hospitalization, and death, even with the emerging variants” said Jim LeBaron, administrator of the Adair County Health Department. “Moreover, they have proven to be a far safer protection against COVID-19 than getting infected with the disease itself.”
“COVID-19 is still a pandemic, not an endemic,” LeBaron said. “Although Adair County has done a decent job in terms of the number of people vaccinated, we can do a lot better. The better we do, the lower our case numbers will likely be.”
More than 53% of Adair County residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 46% are fully vaccinated. Among residents ages 65 and older, more than 89% have received one dose and more than 80% are fully vaccinated.
“Particularly among our older population, who are at greater risk of severe disease and death, our numbers are pretty high,” LeBaron said. “But they still lag behind the vaccine numbers statewide and nationwide, so we can do better.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker, here is how Adair County compares with state and national numbers:
| VACCINE STATUS | U.S. | MISSOURI | ADAIR |
| % Population with at least one dose | 78.0% | 66.6% | 53.2% |
| % Population fully vaccinated | 66.7% | 56.5% | 46.2% |
| Ages 65 and older with at least one dose | 95.0% | 95.0% | 89.3% |
| Ages 65 and older fully vaccinated | 91.2% | 85.4% | 80.1% |
The Adair County Health Department continues to administer adult COVID-19 vaccines and boosters on Tuesdays and pediatric doses on Thursdays. The Health Department also continues to offer $50 gift cards as incentives for those who initiate their vaccine regimen at the Health Department. Call 660-665-8491 to schedule an appointment.
