St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones on Wednesday announced the appointment of the city’s new health director, Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis.
Hlatshwayo Davis is an infectious disease expert with a focus in addressing health disparities among marginalized communities and battling the HIV epidemic.
During a media conference, the doctor said her training in public health and her passion for community engagement will be valuable tools in this new position and noted that her commitment to medicine and to public health is rooted in the loss of her father, a veteran in her home country of Zimbabwe, who succumbed to complications of cancer and diabetes.
“Preventing similar outcomes, providing care to people at their most vulnerable and advocating for our community has been my primary focus,” she said.
Hlatshwayo Davis’ resume is miles long, but currently she sits on the St. Louis City Board of Health and is also co-chair of “Fast Track Cities, St. Louis,” an initiative that aims to eradicate new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths in the region by 2030.
When asked about the city’s current mask mandate and whether she believes it will extend into the fall and winter months, Hlatshwayo Davis said she will always prioritize science-backed, data-driven public health approaches.
Hlatshwayo Davis is the second Black woman to fill the role, the first being Melba Moore who served as acting health director from 2015 to 2018. Moore was appointed by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and is a certified public health administrator
Hlatshwayo Davis will begin her work as the city’s top health leader in October.
Jones confirmed that acting Department of Health Director Dr. Fredrick Echols will continue in his role as the city’s health commissioner. She noted that he applied and interviewed for the director’s position but ultimately the mayor went with Hlatshwayo Davis.
This announcement came just days after the St. Louis Board of Aldermen on Monday voted to extend for 30 days the city’s mask mandate enacted by Dr. Fredrick Echols, acting director of health. In addition to extending the mask mandate, the resolution requires the city to submit a report to the board by Sept. 11 regarding its vaccination efforts.
“My sincere hope is that there is not much disagreement over this as we’ve seen in some neighboring jurisdictions.” — Alderman Jack Coatar
The mandate requires all individuals who are five years and older to wear a face covering while in public indoor spaces and while using public transportation. Exceptions to this are people who are seated in a restaurant or bar eating and drinking and individuals with disabilities that prevent them from putting on or removing face coverings.
The vote from the board was sought because Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a law in early June stating that political subdivisions may only issue public health orders for 30 days in a 180-day period. In order for those orders to then be extended, a simple majority vote by the local governing body is needed.
Along with the extension, the board’s resolution requires the city’s health department to submit a written report by Sept. 11 detailing information on its vaccination efforts, including (but not limited to) information on the vaccine incentive program, city employee vaccine mandate, vaccination education efforts and marketing plans and case data on vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Currently, 163,016 city residents (54.2% of the population) have received at least one dose and 135,817 city residents (45.2% of the population) are fully vaccinated.
While Yale Medicine reports there is no magic vaccination number to achieve herd immunity, where a large portion of a community is immune to a disease, the necessary rate for COVID-19 could be as high as 85% of the total population. The organization noted that measles, for example, spreads so easily that an estimated 95% of a population needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity and for polio the threshold is about 80%.
Alderman Jack Coatar, Ward 7, addressed the board prior to the unanimous vote, clearly alluding to the contentious debate that’s plagued St. Louis County for over a month now.
“My sincere hope is that there is not much disagreement over this as we’ve seen in some neighboring jurisdictions,” he said.
There was no disagreement brought up in the meeting, and it appeared the entire board agreed to co-sponsor the resolution.
Jones issued a statement Monday afternoon stating she was grateful to the board for passing the resolution and that her “administration will continue to work aggressively to reach the vaccine-hesitant and lift our vaccination rates.”
Jones and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page together enacted a public health order requiring masks in public indoor spaces and transportation July 26. The county’s board voted to strike down the mandate a day later, however the city’s mandate has remained in effect since July 26.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt also sued to block the city and county’s mask mandate the day it went into effect. Earlier this month, a county judge issued a suspension on the enforcement of the mandate until the court makes a final ruling after the parties failed to work together to reach a compromise upon the judge’s request.
Monday’s vote follows the vote on Friday by the St. Louis County Council to support a mask mandate after five weeks of contentious debate and at least two votes against the mandate.
Page addressed the public briefly Monday morning, saying that as a result of the county council’s vote to support a mask mandate resolution, his office is asking the judge to rescind the court’s suspension on the enforcement of the mask mandate.
The county executive said Monday that 47.7% of the county’s residents are fully vaccinated.
Jones also recently announced that civil service employees — nearly 6,000 workers — will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct.15 or get tested for the virus on a weekly basis. In addition, St. Louis Public Schools last week instituted a vaccine mandate for all faculty and staff.
Schmitt has also filed a class action lawsuit against school districts that have mandated masks for students and teachers.
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