CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ks. – Joplin’s Mercy and Freeman hospitals recently saw a spike in Coronavirus cases following graduation and Memorial Day celebrations, but the Crawford County Health Department director says that phenomenon wasn’t limited to Missouri.
“So, we did see a slight uptick this week. For the last four weeks, new cases were just in the single digits each week. This week so far, we’ve had 20 new cases,” said Crawford County Health Department Director Teddi Van Kam.
Multiple 4-State health department directors tell KOAM that they’d like to see a lot more of their county’s population vaccinated, and while Van Kam believes there’s still work to be done in her county, she’s also very proud of its progress.
“We do have 50% of our population vaccinated which is wonderful. Kansas’s rate across the state is 43% and we’re right at 50, so I think as a county we’re doing pretty well,” said Van Kam.
But that doesn’t mean there’s not room for improvement, especially with vaccination rates dropping in the 4-State area and across the country.
“(people coming in for vaccinations) are trickling in now, but most of the other counties are seeing the same thing. It’s more of a trickle instead of the heavy stream we had before,” said Van Kam.
The Crawford County Health Department director says she wants to see everyone who’s eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine get one, but says the 18-35 age group is the one that needs the biggest push.
And she’s got a message for anyone on the fence about getting the shot:
“Do your research and look at it, but also consider that you don’t want to expose elderly grandparents and other loved ones that you spend time with. And you know, lost wages are hard to make up. Lost school days are hard to make up. So do your research and get vaccinated,” said Van Kam.
If you’d like to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination with the Crawford County Health Department, click here.
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