Coronavirus

The number of new coronavirus cases in the St. Louis region is rising after weeks of stable numbers. Public health officials say the region is now in a race to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine before the virus becomes more widespread.

Many mosques in the St. Louis region are planning limited celebrations during Ramadan — a month of fasting, prayer and reflection — to slow the spread of the coronavirus. They are offering virtual sermons, shorter nightly Quran readings and prepackaged meals to break the fast during an evening meal called iftar.

In the past week, children and teens 19 and younger have made up 22% of the city’s new coronavirus cases, said Dr. Fred Echols, acting director of the St. Louis Department of Health. That’s up more than 10 percentage points from what health officials have seen throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

An estimated 4.5 million Missouri residents are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

As a frontline worker, Dr. Tiffany Osborn lived in an RV for the past year to protect her family from the coronavirus. She's fully back home now and joins the talk show to share reflections she’s had throughout the year — and the fate of the RV trailer.

In-person classes, fans at sports games and living in the dorms will all return. But most colleges in the region are not planning to require COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Cardinals play their first home game of the 2021 schedule on Thursday. It's the second straight year they are playing during a pandemic.

More than 23,000 veterans in the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Healthcare system have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and more than 15,000 of them are fully vaccinated. VA officials say they expect to vaccinate 80% of veterans by late June. They credit the strong relationships doctors have with their patients.

The St. Louis region will host several vaccination events the next two weeks where residents can get their first COVID-19 vaccine dose. The large-scale sites can vaccinate thousands of people a day, but infectious disease specialists say they may not accommodate many of those most at risk of becoming sick from the coronavirus — people who work retail jobs, poor people and those with chronic health issues.

Workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Navy have arrived in downtown St. Louis to help vaccinate people against the coronavirus. State and local officials hope the two-month immunization event at the Dome at America’s Center will help fill the city’s “vaccination gap.” Nearly 28% of Missouri’s population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, only 19% of people in St. Louis have.