Springfield-Greene County Health Department leaders are giving the community an update Thursday morning on COVID-19 cases, the vaccination clinic being operated at 1425 east Battlefield Road, and vaccinations for children ages 5-11.
A group of newly eligible children will be in attendance to receive their vaccine at the end of the media briefing.
Watch live streaming video of the briefing here at 9:00 a.m.
Authorities have identified a man killed in a house fire in Ash Grove Tuesday.
Investigators say 50 year old Loren Davis died in the fire on Woodbine.
The fire has been ruled accidental.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department is taking appointments for the Pfizer/Bio-N-Tech vaccine for children 5-11 following state approval.
The pediatric vaccine doses will be available and distributed at the Springfield-Greene County Health Department Vaccination Clinic at 1425 East Battlefield Road beginning Thursday.
Due to the demand, an appointment is required.
Parents can make an appointment on the web at vaccine417-dot-com or calling 417-874-1211.
More than 533,000 of Missouri’s population includes children age 5-11 who will now be eligible for vaccination
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation for children ages 5-11 to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC’s recommendation, announced yesterday, was made based on an in-depth review of available safety, immunogenicity and efficacy data. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children on October 29.
Previously, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for use in individuals age 12 and older. The vaccine for children age 5-11 is a smaller dose (10 µg), which is a third of the dosage for individuals 12 years and older (30 µg). The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is administered as a series of two doses, 3 weeks apart, for all eligible individuals.
“As a parent myself, I understand the concerns about vaccinating their young children,” said Donald Kauerauf, DHSS Director. “It is important to make an informed decision based on factual, scientific information, not what is available in a social media feed. I highly encourage parents to discuss their child’s vaccination with their pediatrician or trusted medical professional.”
In clinical trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in children age 5-11. Vaccine side effects were mild and similar to those seen in adults and with other vaccines recommended for children. These are normal signs that their body is building protection, but they should go away in a few days. The most common side effect was a sore arm.
“While it is less common for a child to become severely ill or need hospitalization due to COVID-19, that risk certainly does exist, which became more evident during the recent Delta variant surge,” said Kauerauf. “The Delta variant is still prevalent among COVID-19 cases, and it is impacting people differently than what we witnessed a year ago. Also, we know kids can and do spread the virus and can unknowingly cause severe illness in others including senior citizens and at risk populations.”
According to census data, more than 533,000 of Missouri’s population includes children age 5-11 who will now be eligible for vaccination.
Missourians over the age of 12 are still encouraged to get vaccinated if they have not done so to date. Sufficient supplies of vaccines are available throughout the state.
Distribution of just over 116,000 pediatric doses across the state began earlier this week, with federal plans to scale up to full capacity over the next two weeks. Providers operating under the state’s standing orders should follow the guidance as written for COVID-19 vaccine administration for children age 5-11. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that is given to adults and adolescents cannot be used for children age 5-11.
Providers who pre-ordered pediatric vaccines are listed at MOStopsCovid.com, and later this week Vaccines.gov will list locations on an interactive map where vaccine is available. You can also text your ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find locations near you.
Both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccines are authorized for use in individuals 18 years and older and will continue to be available to adults. Get the facts about COVID-19 vaccines and find a vaccine near you at MOStopsCovid.com.
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About the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: The department seeks to be the leader in protecting health and keeping people safe. More information about DHSS can be found at health.mo.gov or find us on Facebook and Twitter @HealthyLivingMo
The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning for areas generally along and east of Highway 65, including the Springfield metro area, from late Wednesday night into Thursday morning,
Forecasters say sub freezing temps as low as 29 are expected.
That will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation, and could damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Areas west of Springfield are under a Freeze Watch.
Make sure you cover sensitive vegetation or bring plants in the house and unscrew your garden hoses.
If Springfield City Council says yes, every full time fire department, police department and health department employee retention pay up to $6,000 person person over a three year period.
It’s the first real recommendation we’ve seen from a city council committee studying how the city should spend its share of just over $40 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
A survey of community members identified public safety and crime prevention as the number one funding priority for the city.
Here are additional details from the City of Springfield’s news release:
City Council’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Committee met Tuesday to review the results of a community survey conducted earlier this fall to determine funding priorities.
A four-page questionnaire was mailed on Sept. 27, to 5,000 randomly selected households living within the city limits of Springfield. Results are based on 1,438 completed questionnaires (1,237 mail and 201 online). Overall findings have a +/- 2.6% of error (95% confidence interval).
The funding categories ranked in order of importance are:
After the review of the survey results, the committee voted to recommend use of ARPA dollars for retention pay for all full-time Fire Department, Police Department and Health Department staff. This includes full-time contract employees. The recommendation includes a total of up to $6000 per person over a three-year period. The recommendation will be evaluated by the full City Council for consideration soon, with retention pay potentially effective in early 2022.
“It’s very clear that top priority of Springfield citizens is public safety and crime prevention. The survey results tell us what people want to address pertaining to officer retention and public safety,” said Mayor Pro Tem Matthew Simpson, who chairs the ARPA Committee.
At the suggestion of City Manager Jason Gage, there was also support expressed by the committee for a mid-year salary adjustment for all City employees to be achieved with non-ARPA funds and with consideration based on the fact that the City has seen solid revenue growth. This would require action by the full City Council and a timeline has not yet been determined.
The ARPA committee, which is charged with allocating the $40 million in federal aid the City of Springfield has received, is comprised of Simpson, Councilmen Andy Lear and Abe McGull and Councilwoman Heather Hardinger. For more information and all Committee materials, visit springfieldmo.gov/ARPA.
Nixa voters chose to keep Mayor Brian Steele in a recall election.
A group wanted Steele removed from office over a mask-mandate in Nixa.
The vote to keep Mayor Steele was 2,458 to 808 to remove the mayor.
The election surpassed the Christian County Clerk’s prediction that there would be a low turnout out, instead it was the largest voter turnout for a municipal election in Nixa.
In other election results, Lawrence County passed a sales tax and law enforcement tax.
However, fire protection tax issues in Polk and Camden Counties were defeated.
A library tax levy was defeated in Laclede County by a vote of 912 against to 633 for.
Springfield Police have identified a woman who died in a crash on West Bypass Sunday morning.
Police say 72 year old Linda Ward of Springfield was a passenger in a 2018 Honda Passport that was stuck head-on by a 2016 Chevy Silverado that crossed the median.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department announced they have located a missing teenager.
16 year old Jazmond Nicole Masten disappeared Halloween night from a house in Humansville.
Investigators believe she walked away from the residence after a disturbance.
Branson Police have arrested four people in connection with a string of burglaries in the area.
The group broke into a car dealership in Branson and took six vehicles along with the keys and titles for them.
They stole catalytic converters and other valuables from vehicles in Taney, Stone and Boone County in Arkansas.
Two of the four, Dylan Cron and Ariel Deatley, have been charged with burglary and stealing. Branson Police say the other two suspects should be charged later this week.