COVID-19

A little more than 200 temporary medical staff ended up being sent to hospitals, while monoclonal antibody treatments averaged more than $5,600 per patient.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Fentem asked Lynelle Phillips, University of Missouri public health professor and Missouri Immunization Coalition Board president, if it's time for Missourians to learn to live with the coronavirus and whether the state is jumping the gun on its new plan.

The percentage of St. Louis County residents testing positive for the coronavirus and hospital admissions are decreasing, County Executive Sam Page said. That indicates that for now at least, a widespread public mandate is no longer needed, he said.

Using a database of patients, researchers compared the records of more than 150,000 people who tested positive for the virus to records of millions of patients who did not. They found that during the pandemic, those who had COVID-19 were 60% more likely to report symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, substance use disorder or other mental health issues.

Documents show that by mid-March, Missouri’s public health agencies would transition to treat the virus as endemic, like it does the seasonal flu, without daily reporting of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

A legislative panel on Tuesday voted to suspend the latest version of COVID-19 mitigations for public schools, saying in part that those rules are still being litigated in a state appellate court.

For two weeks before the state of emergency expired, healthcare organizations urged Gov. Parson to extend it or give them enough notice it was ending to make accommodations.

COVID relief money was supposed to be a lifeline for small towns recovering from the pandemic, but some found the paperwork too daunting and missed on on the funds.

People in St. Louis are weighing the risks and benefits of going back into the gym during the coronavirus pandemic.

Over half of states have rolled back public health powers during the pandemic, which experts say permanently weakens states’ abilities to protect their constituents’ health.