Are you safe from COVID-19? New analysis has Missouri coming in last in nation

Missouri has been ranked the least safe state during COVID-19, according to a new analysis published Thursday.

WalletHub examined five key metrics: vaccination rate, transmission rate, positive test rate, hospitalizations and deaths. Rankings were based on data available as of Wednesday.

In recent weeks, southwest Missouri has been slammed by a surge of cases. A CDC epidemiologist was deployed this week to Springfield to support genetic sequencing and data analysis.

On Thursday, CoxHealth in Springfield reported 97 COVID-19 patients and two more deaths.

Two days before, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department reported 17 deaths — none of whom were fully vaccinated.

CEO Steve Edwards said on social media that Springfield has become known as the center of the delta variant.

“Remember it will not stay in southwest Missouri,” he said. “The delta variant is driving this, fueled by unvaccinated kindling. Prepare.”

Earlier this week, CoxHealth and Mercy Springfield issued calls for respiratory therapists.

Mercy Springfield chief administrative officer Erik Frederick said Wednesday that the hospital had 120 COVID-19 patients and that 88% of the intensive care unit patients required ventilators. Less than 5% of the virus patients were fully vaccinated.

On Sunday, the hospital had to borrow ventilators from other hospitals.

New cases in the Kansas City metropolitan area have been steadily climbing. The seven-day average for new cases was 125, as of Thursday. One week ago, the average was 91 and two weeks ago, it was 73.

Of Missouri’s residents, 45% have initiated vaccination, the state health department said. The national rate is 55.1%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Missouri has recorded 531,126 total cases including 9,377 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate has been on the rise and was 12.1% on Thursday.

Kansas sat at 31st on Wallethub’s list. It has recorded 319,586 total cases including 5,166 deaths, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut were named the safest states for COVID-19 by Wallethub.

This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 10:44 AM.

Katie Moore

The Kansas City Star

816-234-4312

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.