These southwest Missouri counties have some of the highest COVID-19 rates in the U.S.

After a surge in COVID-19 infections across southwest Missouri in recent days, some parts of the region had the highest rate of new cases in the state and were close to the highest rates in the country.

Experts have attributed the wave in part to vaccine hesitancy, with several counties in the region recording much lower vaccination rates than the statewide rate, which is just under 40%. The spread of the delta variant and loosened restrictions have added to the problem, health officials said.

Hospitals in Springfield, which is in Greene County, have so many COVID-19 patients they have run out of ventilators and are facing staffing shortages.

Joplin, followed by Taney and Greene counties, has the highest rate of new cases with 352 per 100,000 residents, according to data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The City of Joplin, like Kansas City, is counted as its own jurisdiction by state health officials.

That puts Joplin at the number four spot and Taney County at number 10 for the highest rate of new infections in the U.S., according to an analysis by The New York Times. Franklin Parish, La., currently has the highest rate.

On July 4, Mercy Springfield hospital had 116 COVID-19 patients.

“Spent the night looking for ventilators because we ran out,” chief administrative officer Erik Frederick posted on social media.

Ventilators were being sent from St. Louis and northwest Arkansas.

On Wednesday, Frederick posted the hospital had 120 COVID-19 patients. Less than 5% were fully vaccinated.

Steve Edwards, CEO of CoxHealth, said they had 100 patients. In the past eight days, the hospital has had 12 COVID-19 deaths.

“Likely all recent deaths were avoidable with vaccination, perhaps a few would have had cold like symptoms,” he said on social media.

In Greene County, 33.8% have completed vaccination. The statewide rate is 39.4%.

Taney County sits at 25.3% while Joplin is at 42.2%.

Pulaski County has the lowest rate in Missouri at 11.8%.

This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 2:52 PM.

Katie Moore

The Kansas City Star

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Katie Moore was an enterprise and accountability reporter for The Star. She covered justice issues, including policing, prison conditions and the death penalty. She is a University of Kansas graduate and began her career as a reporter in 2015 in her hometown of Topeka, Kansas.