Coronavirus Coverage by Sarah Fentem

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, told doctors and students at Washington University School of Medicine on Thursday that communication and empathy are key to treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic.

About 105,000 health care workers in Missouri have received their first dose of the two-shot vaccine. That’s about one-third of the state’s more than 350,000 patient-facing health care workers.

Weeks into Missouri's vaccine distribution, workers at independent clinics wonder where they fall in line. They describe having to broker their own deals with large hospitals and health departments to find doses, with little guidance from state officials.

Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday that law enforcement personnel, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and other emergency workers are eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Missourians 65 or older or those with chronic health conditions will be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine starting next week.

Federal officials each week tell states how many vaccine doses they will receive. After that, state officials direct the shipments to hospitals, health departments and other vaccination sites. But that number can vary by thousands of doses each week, and vaccinators get little notice of how many doses to expect. That makes it difficult to make appointments for the millions of people now eligible to receive the vaccine in Missouri.

Missouri has given the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to about 262,000 people, or 4% of the state's 6 million residents, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the lowest percentage of all 50 states, and at that pace, Missouri won’t fully vaccinate its population for years.

Thousands of patients in the region are still scrambling to get the coveted coronavirus vaccine. Missouri has one of the lowest coronavirus vaccination rollouts in the country. As of this week, 6% of the state's 6 million residents have received their first dose of the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

University of Missouri scientists have tested about 3,000 wastewater samples from water treatment plants, prisons, veterans homes and colleges and launched an online dashboard that shows where coronavirus concentrations are increasing. The project tests the wastewater of 4 million people, or nearly 70% of Missouri’s population.

Officials from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on Tuesday announced that starting this week, the federal government will send doses of the coronavirus vaccine to 81 Walmart and Sam's Club pharmacies across the state. Critics say that leaves St. Louis, with no Walmarts within city limits, out of the distribution plans.

Nearly one-third of Missourians are now eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine — if they can find it. The confusion is prompting some to ethicists remind people that it's important that people wait until the most vulnerable get their shots first.