COVID-19

A large crowd and energetic choir came together at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Saturday night to honor the thousands of St. Louisans lost to COVID-19. Reflections and musical highlights from the Requiem of Light memorial fill this episode of “St. Louis on the Air.”

Speaking with reporters in St. Louis on Friday, the Missouri senator also reacted to news that Merck's COVID-19 pill is highly effective at reducing the severity of the virus in high-risk patients.

Doctors want as many people as possible to get the flu vaccine before this year's season begins. Unlike last year, they're predicting a bad flu season now that many people are taking fewer precautions against the coronavirus.

The county's previous mask mandate is being fought in court by Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

STL Juntos helped drive up COVID-19 vaccination rates in Missouri’s Hispanic and Latino community. Two members discuss how the volunteer-based organization jumped to serve St. Louis’ Spanish-speaking community on "St. Louis on the Air."

Many K-12 school districts are tapping federal funds to pay for regular surveillance testing of students. It's an effective pandemic tactic when used alongside mask-wearing and other precautions.

Throughout the summer, Missouri was an early hotspot for the delta variant of the coronavirus. This led to more unvaccinated young people getting severely ill, and as more young people got sick – more expectant mothers did too.

Only 45,000 of Missouri adults who received the vaccine since the state announced its vaccine lottery have entered the statewide drawing. That's fewer than 15% of the more than 600,000 people in total who have entered the drawing for $10,000 prizes, which ends next month. Still, the state health director calls the vaccination lottery a success.

The ransomware group known as Hive has stolen confidential patient information from Sikeston-based Missouri Delta Medical Center, including Social Security numbers and medical information.

Donald Kauerauf said Thursday that as head of the Department of Health and Senior Services, he aims to boost the state’s COVID-19 vaccination rates. He supports masking and other public health measures to decrease coronavirus infections but opposes vaccine mandates. Instead, he said the state should focus on giving residents more information.