COVID-19 vaccination clinics that were scheduled to take place through Ozarks Healthcare this week have been rescheduled. On Monday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced the cancelation of all COVID-19 mass vaccination events in partnership with the Missouri National Guard, Department of Health and Senior Service and State Emergency Management Agency that were scheduled to take place this week in the interest of safety due to extreme winter weather.Mass Vaccination Clinic for Pfizer Booster (Second) Doses rescheduled for Feb. 26Weather permitting, Ozarks Healthcare, the Missouri National Guard, Howell County Health Department, and City of West Plains will partner to host a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the West Plains Civic Center on Feb. 26. Booster (second) doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine only will be administered to those who received their initial dose of the vaccine at the initial clinic on Jan. 29.
WEST PLAINS, MO – Ozarks Healthcare, the Missouri National Guard, Howell County Health Department, and City of West Plains are partnering to host a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the West Plains Civic Center on Feb. 19. Booster doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine only will be administered to those who received their initial dose of the vaccine at the initial clinic on Jan. 29. Health officials encourage those who are eligible to receive their second dose of the vaccine on Feb. 19 to not to skip or miss the clinic due to vaccine availability and health concerns. "There are rumors circulating about a first dose being enough to protect you against COVID-19," Mahan said. "One dose of the Pfizer vaccine can reduce the average person's risk of getting the virus by about 50 percent. Clinical research shows that you won't hit the 90 to 95 percent protection range against the virus until a week or more after your second vaccine. It's important you take adva
By Karla Eslinger
State Senator – District 33
Last weekend, I took a drive over to West Plains to visit the COVID-19 vaccination clinic conducted by the Missouri National Guard in cooperation with local health officials. I’m not eligible to receive the vaccine yet myself so I didn’t get a shot, but I wanted to see how these mass vaccination sites work. I was absolutely astonished by the level of collaboration and how efficiently they moved people through the process.
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The Howell County Health Department, the City of West Plains, Ozarks Healthcare and Missouri State University-West Plains joined together with the Guard to administer 2,800 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in a single day. The event was open to area residents in the Phase 1B vaccine group, which includes those over the age of 65 and people with medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus. It was amazing to see everyone work so well together. Over 130 voluntee
The ordinance, enacted in November 2020, was initially set to expire Tuesday.
The West Plains Daily Quill reports Mayor Jack Pahlmann says the reason for extending the order came down to Howell County’s high 14-day positivity test rate, which still hasn’t gotten below the 5% threshold needed for him to suspend the ordinance.
As of Wednesday, the county’s 14-day test positivity test rate is 26.1%, up 5.7% from a week ago. According to public health officials, a rate of 5% or below is ideal for slowing the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Pahlmann adds that another reason to extend the mandate through March is to match the state’s emergency order, also set to expire at that time.
The Howell County Health Department reports an additional 18 cases of COVID-19 were identified in Howell county over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This brings the to-date total number of cases to 3,491. Of the new cases; 12 reside in West Plains, two live in Willow Springs, two live in Mountain View and two live in Pomona. There have been 18,546 tests conducted to-date in Howell County.
New Howell County COVID-19 Dashboard: Thanks to Howell County University of Missouri Extension and the University of Missouri Extension’s Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES), Howell County now has a new dashboard that provides our county COVID-19 case data. Updates are done nightly and will be available the following morning by clicking on this link: