The pandemic slows, county had just one active case Monday

A year after the COVID-19 pandemic first took root in Missouri, signs of a major slowdown continue to be strong. 
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On Monday, March 23, Clinton County Health Department Administrator Blair Shock reported that there was just one active case of COVID-19 in the county. As a result, the county’s total case count since the beginning of the pandemic has stalled, sitting at 1,598 confirmed cases and 472 probable cases. 

​At 69 deaths, Clinton County remains one of the deadliest counties in Missouri per capita for COVID-19, but the vast majority of those deaths came last fall. 

Other entities in the region have also shown a slowdown in cases, including the City of Kansas City, which sat at 37,266 cases on Tuesday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services. The areas of Clay and Platte Counties outside of the City of Kansas City were at 8,071 and 3,187 cases, respectively. Buchanan County was at 7,031 cases, DeKalb County was at 930 cases, and Caldwell County was at 646 cases. 

In the coming weeks in Missouri, more and more people will be able to get COVID-19 vaccines, and according to Shock, the supply is starting to match up with the demand. 
 “On the vaccine front, we continue to vaccinate through clinics in our office weekly,” Shock said. “Vaccine is becoming more readily available via pharmacies as well, including pharmacies in our area. The state is shifting from the large, mass vaccination events in the rural regions to more numerous, smaller events supported by smaller National Guard teams. We believe this will allow more clinics to occur in more areas, which will help prevent people from having to travel long distances to be vaccinated.”
Shock said county residents in Phase 1A and 1B who have yet to be vaccinated can call the health department at (816) 539-2144 to schedule an appointment. He added that, moving forward, they plan to host weekly clinics as the tiers open to more residents.