ST. LOUIS — The head of the St. Louis Labor Council sent a strong message Thursday while announcing this year’s Labor Day parade has been canceled.
“This situation could have been avoided but much of our community continues to refuse to get vaccinated. Vaccinations work,” said council president Pat White.
The 2021 Labor Day parade was set for Monday, Sept. 6 in downtown St. Louis. Normally, dozens of labor unions along with their members, families and supporters come out for the parade every year. But this will be the second year in a row that it’s sideline because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, though, White said the cancelation was announced with “great sadness and frustration” over vaccination rates that are too low and a variant that is causing a surge in local virus cases.
“Together we can beat this. This isn’t about politics, it is about science and loving thy neighbor. Protect yourself, your loved ones, and our community, get the damn vaccine,” White wrote in a news release Thursday.
He encouraged both union and non-union members of the St. Louis area “to get their shot,” and said he fears more community events could be canceled if vaccination rates don’t start to increase soon.
“This is something I look forward to each year. I am afraid that we are headed in the wrong direction and that if vaccination rates don’t increase we will see many more events in our community get canceled,” White expressed.
The only major parade that has been able to march down the streets of St. Louis since the pandemic began was the Fourth of July parade last month.
COVID-19 patients in St. Louis area hospitals have tripled since the July Fourth holiday weekend, according to data from the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. On July 6, the seven-day moving average of hospitalizations was 147 patients. On Thursday, the number was up to 442.
"Having all those folks in one place, you know, kids, grandparents and everybody else, it didn't seem worth it to us," White said in an interview Thursday.
About 45.9% of St. Louis County residents are fully vaccinated, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services dashboard. The number is at 36.5% in the City of St. Louis.