“Missouri is hot spot for Delta variant fueling hospitalizations while vaccination efforts lag.” CNN

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"Kansas City health officials worried about spread of COVID-19 Delta variant."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There's a new COVID-19 variant moving into the Kansas City area and officials are worried low vaccination rates will help fuel a surge in new cases. The Delta variant is 66% more transmissible than the first variant and twice as likely to have more serious disease, according to a Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department news release. The Delta variant's main symptom is a headache, along with a sore throat, runny nose and a fever. Adding to the problem is the low vaccination rate in Missouri.

"KCMO Director of Health Dr. Rex Archer stated in the news release. 'We are seeing a significant surge in cases in southwest Missouri. There is only a small window of opportunity to get vaccinated before the variant takes firm hold in Kansas City.'" KSHB News

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — "As the U.S. emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, Missouri is becoming a cautionary tale for the rest of the country: It is seeing an alarming rise in cases because of a combination of the fast-spreading delta variant and stubborn resistance among many people to getting vaccinated.

"Intensive care beds are filling up with surprisingly young, unvaccinated patients, and staff members are getting burned out fighting a battle that was supposed to be in its final throes.

"The state now leads the nation with the highest rate of new COVID-19 infections, and the surge is happening largely in a politically conservative farming region in the northern part of the state and in the southwestern corner, which includes Springfield and Branson, the country music mecca in the Ozark Mountains where big crowds are gathering again at the city’s theaters and other attractions.

"While over 53% of all Americans have received at least one shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most southern and northern Missouri counties are well short of 40%. One county is at just 13%.

“The delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert. He said there is a “real danger” of local surges like the one in Missouri in places with deep vaccine resistance.

"In Missouri, Republican Gov. Mike Parson has taken the position that it is better to ask people to take “personal responsibility” than to enact restrictions.

"Missouri never had a mask mandate, and Parson signed a law last week placing limits on public health restrictions and barring governments from requiring proof of vaccination to use public facilities and transportation.” Associated Press

“There’s freedoms that outweigh consequences,” Parson said.

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“By early next week, roughly 10 percent of the state’s entire population will have been been sick with COVID-19 since March 2020. Experts say the actual case count is likely higher. Gov. Mike Parson told KMIZ that while the Delta variant is a cause for concern, the state is “comfortable” with where things are." KMIZ News

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“‘A highway away’: Delta variant, low vaccine rates cause COVID spike across Missouri.”

"Missouri leads the nation in new COVID-19 cases per capita according to a New York Times analysis of states’ data. The surge is being driven in part by the Delta variant, which was first detected in India and now has taken hold firmly in Missouri. If vaccinations remain stagnant, health officials stress COVID variants will spread. Vaccinations are residents’ best defense, public health officials and experts said. If vaccination rates don’t increase, they have a grim outlook for what’s to come. We’re going to have another variant, because life will always find a way to live. And that’s what this virus is doing.” The Missouri Independent

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Above is a photo from the Neptune Fountain on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri.

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