Alex Garza

Dr. Alexander Garza said the best way to prepare for a future pandemic is to improve social resources, such as food access, education and transportation.

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.

Avoiding renewed restrictions will depend on increasing vaccinations.

The increasing supply of the coronavirus vaccine could soon make it difficult for local health departments to get shots in the arms of people fast enough.

Some people in the St. Louis region are driving hours to get the COVID-19 vaccine in rural areas. Regional health officials say people with resources are doing so when others can’t, but they don’t fault them for it.

Vaccine doses have been so scarce near St. Louis that many area residents desperate for a shot have started traveling to rural parts of the state to find one.

In some rural counties, health agencies mistakenly doled out vaccines that were intended to be booster shots

Dr. Alex Garza said earlier this week that the region is receiving less than half of the vaccine allotment it should be based on population.

Hospitals across Missouri will soon receive help from a Texas-based company the state is hiring to provide additional workers and hospital beds. The support announced Wednesday will help hospitals care for additional coronavirus patients.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital is treating adult patients with the coronavirus. The hospital began admitting adult patients with COVID-19 to relieve doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which is nearing its capacity.