Lawrence County Health Dept. updates:
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Nov. 24, 2021) Our average two week new case count has remained virtually the same since October 15th. Unfortunately, we were saddened to receive notification of two more deaths due to COVID-19 that both happened in the month of October.
The percentage of eligible county residents vaccinated over the past two weeks only increased by .5%. We continue to encourage our residents to get vaccinated, either by calling our office or checking with your local pharmacy. Boosters are now open to anyone over 18 years of age if it has been at least 6 months since your last dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or at least 2 months since you received Johnson and Johnson.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Nov. 12, 2021) Over the past two weeks we have had 56 new cases of COVID-19. We are also sad to report another death due to the virus and send our condolences to the family and friends of this loved one.
We are now including the percentage of eligible residents 5 and up who have been vaccinated.
If you have not been vaccinated yet and are interested, it's never too late. Being vaccinated has been proved to greatly reduce your chances of becoming ill and especially hospitalized. With the holidays quickly approaching, this is a great way to keep yourself and your loved ones protected if you plan on gathering together.
To be fully protected by Christmas Day, there is a short window of time. You would need to go with the Pfizer vaccine since it is only 3 weeks between doses, then it takes another 2 weeks to develop full protection. Your 1st dose would need to be given by November 19th.
Appointments can be made at our office or local pharmacies. All are free of charge.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Oct. 29, 2021) Over the past two weeks we received notification of 54 new cases. Numbers are continuing to decline.
COVID-19 boosters are now available. Go to https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/facts/#third-dose to see if you qualify. We have several upcoming booster clinics in November, however most all pharmacies in the area are also giving boosters. If you got your initial doses with us, you do not have to come to us again for your booster. You are welcome to go anyplace that is convenient for you. Call 417-466-2201 if you would like to schedule with us.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Sept. 17, 2021) We added an additional 44 cases since our dashboard post last Friday. We are also sad to report 4 additional deaths due to COVID-19 since that time. We send our condolences to the family and friends of these loved ones.
Our percentage of vaccinated individuals ages 12 and older continues to go up a little at a time. (Currently 38.7%) We hope to see that trend continue. We also hope to see the downward trend of new cases continue as well. Have a safe weekend!
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Sept. 10, 2021) We have added 81 new cases over the past 10 days. We are also sad to announce the passing of two Lawrence County residents due to COVID-19. (1 in their 70s and 1 in their 80s). We send our condolences to the families and friends of these loved ones.
We encourage those who have still not been vaccinated to consider doing so. Local hospital data clearly shows the benefits of being vaccinated. It greatly reduces your chance of getting the virus, becoming severely ill from the virus and dying from the virus.
You can call our office to schedule a Monday or Friday appointment at 417-466-2201 or contact your local pharmacy. Vaccines are free! Have a safe weekend.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Aug. 30, 2021) We are sad to report the COVID-19 related death of a Lawrence County resident in their 70's. We send our sincere condolences to the family and friends of this loved one.
Our new cases numbers have steadily began to decline over the past couple weeks. As the new school year starts, it greatly helps to keep these numbers down, by not sending children to school if they feel unwell, or if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 outside of school.
We get several calls everyday from people needing testing resources. We do not provide testing here, but our website has a long list of local testing locations http://www.lawrencecohealth.com/coronavirus/
Also, just a reminder that we do not provide any nursing services without an appointment and we also require persons to wear a mask when inside our building.
We are still taking appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations. These vaccinations are given Monday's and Friday's by calling 417-466-2201.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Aug. 20, 2021) Seventy-eight new cases were received since Tuesday morning. We are also sadly reporting 3 more deaths. Two were individuals in their 50's and one in their 70's. Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those who passed. Please protect yourself and others:
Get a vaccine
Wear a mask
Physical distance
Have a safe weekend.
(Fully vaccinated as of Aug. 20, 36 percent.)
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Aug. 16, 2021) Since our last dashboard post a week ago, we are sad to announce we received confirmation of another death due to COVID-19, an individual in their 70's. We send our condolences to the family and friends of this loved one.
We added 82 new cases over the past 7 days and are happy to see that daily cases are slowly down.
Vaccination is still very important as is masking and social distancing. Please call our office to schedule an appointment at 417-466-2201. Most pharmacies in the county also carry COVID-19 vaccine.
We are still waiting to hear from the Missouri Department of Health Senior Services about boosters (when we can start giving them and who is eligible). We will share more information on this as soon as it is available.
(Fully vaccinated as of Aug. 16, 33.4 percent.)
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Aug. 10, 2021) We are heartbroken to announce that 3 more loved ones have died due to COVID-19. These individuals were in their 60's, 70's and 80's. We extend our sincere condolences to the families.
Over the past 4 days we added 60 new cases. The percentage of individuals getting vaccinated continues to rise a little each day. Our dashboard now reflects the percentage of our county population 12 and up (those eligible to receive the vaccine) who are fully vaccinated rather than including the entire county population. (As of Aug. 10, 32 percent.)
We are working with area churches to offer two vaccine clinics: 3-6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, at Aurora United Methodist Church, 1211 S. Carnation, Aurora, and 9:30-11:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 13, at Aurora Baptist Temple, 1013 S. Elliott, Aurora.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Aug. 6, 2021) Three more lives have been lost to COVID-19 over the past week. An 18 yr. old, 76 yr. old and an 85 yr. old. All precious lives. We send our sincere condolences to the families. Receiving these notices is always heartbreaking to us.
As you can see (on the health department's Facebook page), we have changed our dashboard to now reflect the percentage of Lawrence County residents ages 12 and up who are now fully vaccinated. (As of Aug. 6, 26.5 percent.) We still have a long way to go.
We are still encouraging those who have not been vaccinated to do so. It is still important for everyone (both vaccinated and unvaccinated) to wear a mask in public, around those who are not vaccinated and to avoid large parties/gatherings/events. The Delta variant has shown us that yes, vaccinated people may still become infected, however the vaccine can drastically reduce the severity of illness. This has been proven over and over by our local hospital data. Listen to the Dr.'s and staff at these hospitals when they say how bad it is. This not only affects them, but affects all emergency responders, funeral homes, facilities who provide thousands of COVID-19 tests, businesses who are under staffed because of illness, health departments, urgent care, etc. It's a much bigger picture than people may realize.
Please, please, please consider vaccinating.
We would also like to remind those who follow our page to please be kind to one another. We use our page to share credible and factual information. If you do not like what we have to say, you can voice that frustration on your own page or simply scroll past. We are not a platform for misinformation.
Have a safe weekend.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., July 30, 2021) We have added 216 new cases in a little over a week. We are also sad to report the passing of 2 more county residents due to COVID-19. We send our sincere condolences to the family of these loved ones.
We have posted a side by side comparison (on Facebook page) to show where our numbers were exactly a year ago today. It is amazing, yet sad to see the difference a year has made. Many precious lives lost.
Nearly 26% of eligible Lawrence County residents are now fully vaccinated. If you would like to see more information on the number of individuals fully vaccinated in surrounding Missouri counties, go to https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/data/
If you would like information on what to do if you test positive or have been exposed, we have a detailed document here http://www.lawrencecohealth.com/.../Home-isolation...
If you need testing information it is located at the bottom of this page http://www.lawrencecohealth.com/coronavirus/
If you would like information on where to get a COVID-19 vaccine, go to https://www.vaccines.gov/ or, call our office at 417-466-2201 for an appointment that can usually be scheduled on the same day.
It is encouraging to see that the percentage of fully vaccinated in Lawrence County is going up. Let's get some more sleeves rolled up out there!
(Lawrence County Health Dept., July 21, 2021) We are sad to report 2 additional deaths due to COVID-19. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of these loved ones.
Our cases continue to rise with no signs of slowing. We hope our residents see how serious our situation is. We need to start moving in a different direction. In order to do that we ask that you please consider vaccination if you haven't done so and are able. We also ask that if you are not vaccinated, or if you've initiated your vaccinations, to remember to take those additional precautions to protect yourself and others.
The Governor announced a new vaccination incentive program today. Starting in July, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services will partner with the Missouri Lottery to draw 180 winners in 5 randomized drawings who will win either $10,000 cash or $10,000 towards an education savings account. In total, the state will award 900 individuals throughout the incentive program. Click here for more details https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/win/
(Lawrence County Health Dept., July 13, 2021) 97 additional cases have been added over the past 5 days. We are also reporting 3 additional deaths. Our hearts go out to the families of these loved ones.
We receive notification of new cases non stop at our office. It is safe to assume that actual numbers are higher because many people do not seek testing. Because of the overwhelming number of new cases we receive, it now impossible to contact those individuals within a day or two. If you have tested positive or have been exposed to someone who is positive here is a great resource on our website that talks about isolation and quarantine. Here is the link. http://www.lawrencecohealth.com/.../Home-isolation...
(Lawrence County Health Dept., June 29, 2021) We received confirmation late yesterday that the Delta variant is officially in our county.
Over the past 7 days, we have opened 117 new cases and we are still working on more that were received between yesterday and today. It is becoming a challenge again to keep up with the volume of cases, but we are doing our best to reach out in a timely manner.
We ask that you still consider getting vaccinated. You can call our office to schedule 417-466-2201 (we have both Moderna and J&J) or you can go to https://www.vaccines.gov/search/. You can put in the vaccine you are looking for and your zip code and it will list locations near you.
If you are not vaccinated, is important to continue to wear a mask, social distance, avoid large gatherings and wash your hands.
Delta variant confirmed in Lawrence County
(Lawrence County Health Dept., June 29, 2021) We received confirmation late yesterday that the Delta variant is officially in our county.
Over the past 7 days, we have opened 117 new cases and we are still working on more that were received between yesterday and today. It is becoming a challenge again to keep up with the volume of cases, but we are doing our best to reach out in a timely manner.
We ask that you still consider getting vaccinated. You can call our office to schedule 417-466-2201 (we have both Moderna and J&J) or you can go to https://www.vaccines.gov/search/. You can put in the vaccine you are looking for and your zip code and it will list locations near you.
If you are not vaccinated, is important to continue to wear a mask, social distance, avoid large gatherings and wash your hands.
Lawrence County Health Dept. updates:
(Lawrence County Health Dept., June 29, 2021) We received confirmation late yesterday that the Delta variant is officially in our county.
Over the past 7 days, we have opened 117 new cases and we are still working on more that were received between yesterday and today. It is becoming a challenge again to keep up with the volume of cases, but we are doing our best to reach out in a timely manner.
We ask that you still consider getting vaccinated. You can call our office to schedule 417-466-2201 (we have both Moderna and J&J) or you can go to https://www.vaccines.gov/search/. You can put in the vaccine you are looking for and your zip code and it will list locations near you.
If you are not vaccinated, is important to continue to wear a mask, social distance, avoid large gatherings and wash your hands.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., March 25, 2021) We preface our weekly update with sad news. The passing of another Lawrence County resident who was in their 60's. We send our condolences to the family and friends of this loved one.
(Lawrence County currently has 2 cases in isolation.) This is the first time we have seen single digit isolation numbers in many, many months. It's thrilling to see the number of cases decrease every week and we are hopeful this will continue.
We encourage our residents to seriously consider vaccination if you are able. If you would like to read more about the vaccines here is a great page that may answer some of your questions if you are hesitant. At the bottom of the page it addresses many of the rumors floating around. https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/facts/
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Feb. 23, 2021) We are sad to report 2 more COVID related deaths since our last post - a person in their 80s and one in their 90s. We send our condolences to the family and friends of these loved ones. We also have several people currently hospitalized due to complications from COVID.
While it is wonderful that our numbers have decreased considerably everyone still needs to be mindful that the virus is still circulating. It is tempting to want to go back to "life as normal", but we are not quite there yet. We all need to continue taking prevention measures. We cannot stress that enough.
It is such a good feeling to be vaccinating so many of our residents. To see such happy, eager faces at our clinics brings us joy. We hope to continue to vaccinate more and more of our residents as we get shipments. We know the rollout has been slow, but we are starting to see an increase in both supply and vaccinating sites in the area. The months ahead are looking promising!
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Feb. 9, 2021)
We received notification of two additional COVID-19 related deaths. A woman in her 60's and a man in his 80's. We send our condolences to the families of these loved ones.
Our total case count grew by 140 since January 28th, 2021. Numbers have continued to stay at a smaller daily volume, however, this does not mean it is a good idea to ease up on your prevention efforts.
We are continuing our COVID-19 vaccination efforts. We received 300 doses this week and are in the process of calling people on our waiting list in the order they signed up. As we receive shipments, we will continue this process. We are never guaranteed that orders will be fulfilled by the state. We do our best to work as quickly and efficiently as possible to vaccinate our residents who fall within the current priority groups with what we do receive.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Jan. 28, 2021)
We received 200 doses of Moderna vaccine this Wednesday, Jan. 27, and have already made appointments for these spots from our waiting list. We are continuing to add to the waiting list for any additional vaccine we receive (we don't know when that will be), but you must fall within the phases listed here https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/priority/ Please review these phases before you call 417-466-2201. As of right now, calling our office is the only way to get on this list. We will not take names from facebook comments.
(Lawrence County Health Dept., Jan. 22, 2021) We are starting a waiting list for people who live or work in Lawrence County and fall within the following phases ONLY. This is per the State of Missouri guidelines.
• Phase 1A
• Phase 1B- Tier 1
• Phase 1B- Tier 2
To see where you fall in the phases go to https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/
If you are not in the above phases, you will not be added to the list at this time.
Please be patient when you call us at 417-466-2201. We have limited staff and phone lines.
Governor appoints Pam Robertson as recorder of deeds
Governor Mike Parson has appointed Pam Robertson as Lawrence County recorder of deeds, filling a vacancy that occurred with the passing of Gary Emerson on Nov. 5, 2020.
Robertson retired from the position two years earlier; but she interrupted that retirement to help out in the office after Emerson became seriously ill from COVID-19. The county commission appointed her acting recorder of deeds after Emerson's passing.