New weekly COVID-19 cases counts increased again as of Wednesday. Iowans and non-Iowans are still getting their COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots, but the vaccination rate still lingers below 70 percent, new state data shows.
Statewide, the number of patients in Iowa hospitals with COVID-19 reached 180 as of Wednesday, up from 139 patients last week. It’s the highest total seen since early March, but still far below the omicron variant surge in January.
Feb. 1 would be observed as George Washington Carver Day in recognition his scientific and agricultural accomplishments and global humanitarian achievements, and to acknowledge Iowa State University and Simpson College, which allowed a Black man to persevere through racial barriers and fulfill his potential.
Work is underway to “fine tune” the COVID-19 vaccines to make them more effective against emerging variants, but a strategy scientists hope to employ includes offering flu and coronavirus boosters in a single vaccine.
The state public health department has reported new COVID-19 case counts have increased again, reaching 3,847 new infections in the past seven days. Hospitalizations also continued to increase this week.
The state reported 3,172 new coronavirus cases in the past seven days, which is roughly triple the number of new cases reported on April 20. Six weeks ago, Iowa reported 478 new cases.
The University of Iowa Health Care has joined a new Phase 2 clinical trial that will test booster vaccines in various combinations to determine which provide the best immune response against existing and emerging COVID-19 variants.
The Iowa Department of Public Health confirmed four deaths statewide as a result of the coronavirus, the lowest number seen since the early days of the pandemic. However, new infections and related hospitalizations continue to rise across Iowa.
The county reported 305 new cases this week — the highest seven-day total since the 449 cases reported Feb. 16.
In the past year, federal assistance programs and cost-sharing waivers from private insurance companies for COVID-19 treatments as ended. As a result, financial counselors have seen more clients seeking help with medical debt.
Increasing coronavirus transmission rates and new COVID-19 cases across Johnson County is a result of an emergence of BA.2, a subvariant of omicron, federal data shows. A local expert says this latest stage of the pandemic highlights the importance of vaccines and booster shots.
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 1,063 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, an increase from the 900 new cases reported last week. However, infected patients in intensive care in Iowa’s hospitals have reached an all-time low.
A statewide coalition of refugee and immigrant service leaders has launched RIVA, a new coalition that aims to address public health inequities among the refugee and immigrant population in Iowa.
In addition to vouchers, K-12 transparency, unemployment benefits, a proposed ethanol mandate, and the bottle bill remain on lawmakers’ to-do list.
After reaching an all-time low last week, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 increased to 68 in Iowa in the past week, though that number is still far below the January peak.
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