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4% of Missourians have received first COVID-19 vaccine shot, lowest in US

According to data from the CDC compiled by The New York Times, Missouri is behind every state in the rate of distribution for the first dose. Illinois ranks 44th

ST. LOUIS — Just 4% of Missourians have received the first shot of the two-dose coronavirus vaccine as of Sunday, the lowest of any state in the country.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiled by The New York Times, Missouri is behind every state in the rate of distribution for the first dose, and only U.S. territories in the Virgin Islands, Micronesia and Guam have a lower percentage of the population with the first dose. 

According to the data, 4.4% of people in Illinois have received the first shot, which ranked 44th of the 50 states.

Both Missouri and Illinois are below the percent for the entire country. As of Sunday, 5.6% of Americans have received the first dose.

Missouri has administered two doses to 1.2% or residents, which is 13th in the county. The data shows 1.1% of Illinoians have both doses, which ranks 21st. Both are above the 1.0% for the country as a whole.

Missouri has received 661,400 doses of the vaccine, according to CDC data, and has administered 317,737, about 48% of the stock it has on hand. The usage percentage of 48% ranks 40th in the county.

Illinois has administered 699,072 of the 1,417,250 doses it has received as of Sunday, a usage percentage of 49%. The state ranks 36th in usage.

According to CDC data, 53% of the distributed doses in the United States have been administered. North Dakota and West Virginia have the highest rates in the country at more than 80%.

Cities, counties and health care systems across the St. Louis area have set up registration systems. Local health departments rely on the states to provide vaccines. 

There have been disparities in vaccine supplies around the St. Louis area, with some counties struggling to get doses while others begin mass vaccination events.

Vaccine plans for both Missouri and Illinois put health care workers and long-term care facilities in Group 1A, the first people to get the shot. Group 1B includes essential workers and people in high-risk categories.

RELATED: Here's how you can get in line for the COVID-19 vaccine

On Sunday, the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported improving COVID-19 hospitalization numbers again.

The task force reported 569 total COVID-19 hospitalizations on Sunday, the lowest number since Nov. 8.

The following data are the combined figures from the four major health systems (BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke’s Hospital) that are part of the task force, for Jan. 24.  

  • New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased — from 80 on Saturday to 65 on Sunday.
  • The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased — from 81 Saturday to 77 Sunday.
  • The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations decreased — from 644 on Saturday to 628 on Sunday.
  • Inpatient confirmed COVID positive hospitalizations decreased — from 572 on Saturday to 569 on Sunday.
  • Inpatient suspected COVID positive hospitalizations remained the same at 60 on Sunday.
  • The number of confirmed COVID positive patients in the ICUs remained the same at 125 on Sunday.
  • The number of confirmed COVID positive patients on ventilators increased— from 82 on Saturday to 84 on Sunday.
  • The number of COVID deaths decreased — from 12 on Saturday to 10 on Sunday.
  • The seven-day moving average of COVID deaths decreased — from 14 on Saturday to 13 on Sunday.
  • Across the system hospitals, 75 COVID-19 patients were discharged and returned home on Saturday, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients discharged to 17,158.  
  • On Sunday, staffed bed hospital capacity is at 78%, an average across the four task force hospitals. The ICUs are at 84% of their total staffed bed capacity.

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