Coronavirus Coverage by Sarah Fentem

In Missouri, the average person born in 2021 could expect to live to be 74.6 years old, a whole three years younger than the average age ten years ago. The state’s drop is part of a nationwide decline, though the life expectancy in Missouri is lower than the United States average.

Anthony Fauci, who became a nationally recognized face of the public health response during the coronavirus pandemic, told graduating medical students to fight scientific disinformation during a commencement speech in St. Louis on Monday.

After more than three years and thousands of COVID-19 deaths in Missouri, the end of the public health emergency heralds a new phase in which the virus is present but less dangerous to the general public.

The number of kidney donations dropped during the pandemic. Authors of a new study that shows kidneys from patients with COVID-19 are safe to transplant will instill confidence in patients and health providers.

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government issued emergency protections that barred states from removing people from the government-funded health insurance program for low-income people and families. That changes this month.

Wash U researchers have developed a microwave-size box that uses electrodes and a “wet cyclone” to detect coronavirus particles in the air within five minutes. The scientists say the prototype could be fitted to detect other pathogens and bacteria, as well.

A growing number of people are testing positive for the coronavirus, but Missouri scientists say the virus still poses a smaller threat to residents than during the height of the pandemic.

The federal goverment has approved updated COVID-19 vaccines that protect people against getting dangerously sick. But the shots are being distributed through commercial means for the first time, and patients have reported canceled appointments and insurance denials.

While the coronavirus is circulating less widely than in previous years, an uptick in hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients and a number of employees getting sick with the virus, flu and other illnesses led BJC to put the mask requirement in place, system officials said.

As levels of the coronavirus have increased in Missouri and across the country, the federal government has approved updated vaccines to protect against COVID-19. The virus itself has changed, and along with it, guidelines for how to keep others safe.