It’s Morning Edition on KRPS; I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro. Two weeks from today schools throughout Southwest Missouri will open up for a new academic year as the state is nearing half of its residents receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine according to data Sunday from the Missouri Department of Health.

Over the course of the last three weeks, there has been a slight increase in the number of residents receiving vaccines as hospitalizations have increased due to the Delta variant. As of Sunday, the state department of health is reporting about 12,900 COVID vaccine shots per day. Speaking last Friday, Freeman President and CEO Paula Baker updated how her hospital continues to navigate the crisis.