In the latest Pettis County Covid-19 Task Force Briefing, the Pettis County Health Center is advising those who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 to get their booster dose.

Pettis County Health Center believes, "With the impending arrival of the Omicron variant, booster doses are more important than ever." Their report continues, "Preliminary data shows the currently authorized Moderna Covid-19 booster can boost neutralizing antibody levels 37-fold higher against the Omicron variant than pre-boost levels. Similar data is being reported by Pfizer-BioNTech for its vaccine booster."

Pettis County Health Center says sewer shed data indicates a new spike in the Sedalia North district, as well as elevations in the Southeast. At this time, the Delta variant is the only Covid-19 variant in our sewer shed, however, the Omicron variant has been identified in sewer shed from the Kansas City area.

The Health Center says it took about four to six weeks for the Delta variant to show up in Sedalia after appearing in the Kansas City area. The Health Center says they expect to see the Omicron variant appear in the next 1-2 testing reports of the Sedalia area sewer shed.

Additionally, there have been 74 Pettis County residents with reported cases of influenza. During the entire 2020-2021 flu season there were less than ten reported cases.

60% of Missourians have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. With 53% fully vaccinated. In Pettis County, 45% of residents have started the vaccination process, with 40% considered fully vaccinated.

The Health Center is asking people to use caution when attending holiday gatherings. They recommend wearing face coverings when not certain of vaccination status. Keeping gatherings small. Opening a window to improve ventilation. And staying home if you exhibit any Covid-19 symptoms.

Answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

Vaccinations for COVID-19 began being administered in the U.S. on Dec. 14, 2020. The quick rollout came a little more than a year after the virus was first identified in November 2019. The impressive speed with which vaccines were developed has also left a lot of people with a lot of questions. The questions range from the practical—how will I get vaccinated?—to the scientific—how do these vaccines even work?

Keep reading to discover answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions.

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