Over the last two weeks, the state of Missouri leads the nation in the number of new COVID cases diagnosed per capita. Missouri has 13 out of the top 25 counties of new cases per capita over that same time frame. Laclede County is 12th in the nation. Laclede County Health Department Administrator, Charla Baker, attributes the surge in cases to a number of things including the minuscule vaccination rate in many of Missouri’s rural counties compared to other areas of the country. Baker says individuals in Laclede County that are sick are also attending large gatherings……….

Other area counties in the top 25 of new cases per capita in the United States include Dallas, Camden, Phelps, Webster, Texas, Wright, and Polk Counties.