A third wave of the COVID-19 virus towards the end of 2020 swept through the United States and took thousands of lives with it.
Missouri, a conservative state without a state-wide mask mandate, was one of the hardest hit states. At its peak in mid-November, the state was averaging nearly 5,000 new cases a day.
A small hospital just outside St. Louis was just one of many health facilities that felt the full force of pandemic. St. Joseph Hospital was quickly overwhelmed when all 10 of their ICU beds filled up.
Armond Feffer/The Missouri Independent
