Missouri Gov. Mike Parson Misleads Missourians on COVID-19 Death Rate

With 19 days until the election, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is desperately trying to rewrite the facts on his disastrous COVID-19 response. In last week’s debate, Parson claimed the death rate in Missouri had drastically decreased, but reporting by the Kansas City Star shows this is misleading.

The Star reports: “More Missourians have died from COVID-19 in recent months than early in the pandemic. […] more people have been reported dead in the last three-and-a-half months than in the first three-and-a-half-months: 1,422 compared to 998.”

Under Parson’s watch, 56 veterans died of COVID-19 in Missouri veterans homes between September 1st and October 12th. The second-deadliest outbreak occurred at the Mt. Vernon Veterans Home, which had its first case of COVID-19 just one day after a visit from Parson – who called his administration’s handling of COVID-19 in its veterans homes the “standard nationwide.” 

In addition to spreading these misleading claims, Parson’s administration has been under fire for failing to report accurate data on its COVID-19 dashboard, which is used to guide public health decisions. Without accurate data, the state is flying blind. The St. Louis Post Dispatch editorial board called out Parson for the state’s grave errors on COVID-19 data on Monday, saying Parson “owes the state some answers.”

Parson may be trying to pull the wool over Missourians’ eyes by touting misleading facts, but it’s clear he can’t fool them. Recent polling shows Parson’s approval rating has dropped over 20 points since April to a mere 39%.

“Mike Parson can’t rewrite history,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Christina Amestoy. “The facts don’t lie – more Missourians than ever are dying from COVID-19, and it’s Parson’s fault. His handling of the pandemic has been nothing short of a complete disaster, and it’s time Parson takes responsibility for it.”