Springfield Mayor Ken McClure addresses city’s COVID-19 response and recent increase in hospitalizations

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Springfield Mayor Ken McClure joined a nationwide newscast Sunday morning to discuss the city’s COVID-19 response and the recent increase in hospitalizations in the south -Western Missouri.

McClure joined CBS’s “Face The Nation” after several weeks of increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the Springfield area.

Greene County hospitals entered the weekend with at least 228 COVID-19 patients seeking treatment, according to the Springfield-Greene County Department of Health. Mercy Springfield and CoxHealth, two of southwestern Missouri’s largest healthcare systems, were treating a total of 272 COVID-19 patients on Friday.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department is reporting a seven-day moving average of 215 new cases, reaching levels local health officials have not seen in nearly six months. Hospitals in southwest Missouri are struggling with maximum capacity, which has led health officials to transfer some patients to St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Arkansas.

The Delta COVID-19 variant is seen as a driving force, but McClure told “Face The Nation” John Dickerson that there were other factors behind the recent surge.

“People come to Springfield to shop, to do business. So people will come here. And I think that has dramatically increased our exposure, ”McClure said.

McClure noted on the show that misinformation could be behind the recent wave of hesitation over vaccination.

“People talk about their fears, health-related fears, what it might do to them later in life, what might be in vaccines and this information is just plain incorrect,” he said. McClure said. “We as a society and certainly in our community are hurt by this.”

The mayor of Springfield, MO, says the community is “hurt” by the widespread misinformation about vaccines: “People are talking about their fears, their health-related fears, what it might do to them later in their life. life, of what might be in vaccines and of that information is simply incorrect. ” pic.twitter.com/xzoxlAODwV

– Face the Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 18, 2021

Recently, the Springfield-Greene County Department of Health has been working on billboards and door-to-door campaigns in an effort to slow the outbreak and improve the number of vaccinations in the southwest. from Missouri.

“Public health has been using the door-to-door philosophy for years. It has been a proven practice, ”said McClure. “Our Springfield-Greene County Health Department has used it for a long time. But the key is that they are trusted people in the community. We called on community advocates. It is the members that community members will trust to disseminate factual and trustworthy information.

Mercy Springfield and CoxHealth expect the COVID-19 response to become even more active in the coming weeks. Mercy recently opened a sixth COVID-19 unit, a move that comes after the hospital only used five units at the height of the pandemic last year.

McClure noted on the show that the best defense against the virus and potential variants is to get the full shot. The Springfield-Greene County Health Department just announced Thursday that 40% of Greene County residents, who qualify based on age, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

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