As Iowans prepare to gather with loved ones for the Thanksgiving holiday, virus transmission rates are at the highest levels. Iowa hospital officials are encouraging people to get the COVID-19 booster shot and take other steps to prevent infections among vulnerable Iowans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Friday opened COVID-19 booster shots to all adults and took the extra step of urging people 50 and older to seek one, aiming to ward off a winter surge as coronavirus cases rise even before millions of Americans travel for the holidays.
Iowa’s four Catholic Dioceses launched a campaign this week to encourage Iowans to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The effort was launched after conversations about vaccine hesitancy between the Diocese of Davenport and the University of Iowa.
Local vaccine providers say they are still seeing high demand for COVID-19 vaccine appointments for children aged 5 to 11 years in the two weeks since federal health officials approved the two-dose Pfizer vaccine for this age group. Health care providers say children who receive the first shot this week will be fully vaccinated by the end-of-year holidays.
New infections increase for fourth week in a row; available ICU beds hit all-time low
More than 150 GOP U.S. House members filed legislation to nullify a mask mandate for businesses issued by Democratic President Joe Biden's administration.
Mercy Medical Center says 98.1 percent of all staff are compliant with its COVID-19 vaccine requirement as of Monday, the final day for employees to be fully vaccinated or have an exemption. Hospital officials say “a small percentage” of staff requested and were approved for a religious or medical exemption.
We talked to three kids about what the COVID shot felt like, why they wanted to get vaccinated, and what they would say to other kids about it.
Friday marked the final day for employees of MercyOne to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or receive an exemption. The health care system had extended the deadline to comply with a new state law that allowed staff previously denied an exemption to reapply.
Linn County Public Health is holding four vaccination clinics at Cedar Rapids schools for children 5 to 11. The clinics, open to any child with a parent present, will take place from Monday, Nov. 29 to Thursday, Dec. 2.
Cedar Rapids middle school students are taking advantage of the opportunity to play sports this year after all middle school athletics were canceled in Iowa during the 2020-21 school year to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
With Iowa eager to put COVID in the rear view mirror, Board of Regents President Mike Richards in May lifted the state of emergency he imposed in March 2020 and mandated Iowa’s public universities return to pre-pandemic operations.
The contagious delta variant is driving up COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Mountain West and fueling disruptive outbreaks in the North, a worrisome sign of what could be ahead this winter in the U.S.
9,067 new cases of COVID-19 infections were reported in the past week, up from 7,643 the previous week and from 6,983 two weeks ago.
Fred Horn, 62, has never served in the military. But on Oct. 5, he was admitted to the Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Iowa City under the “fourth mission,” a policy that allows the VA to assist in times of crisis.
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