8,000 more fully vaccinated in Iowa

In the past week, Iowa passed the half-million mark in the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the state since March 2020.

The past week also saw another 8,009 Iowans became fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health’s weekly report.

That brings the number of Iowans fully vaccinated to 1,673,368. That’s 56.54 percent of Iowans aged 5 and older, and 53.04 percent of the state’s entire population.

In Linn County, an additional 484 residents became fully vaccinated, bringing the countywide total to 134,242. That’s 63.14 percent of those aged 5 and older and 59.21 percent of Linn County’s total population.

Johnson County reported an additional 292 individuals became fully vaccinated, bringing the total number of immunized residents to 95,538. That’s 67.07 percent of the population aged 5 and older, and 63.21 percent of the county’s entire population.

A week has passed since children between the ages of 5 and 11 became eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is one-third the strength of the vaccine for teens and adults. Iowa children began getting the shots Nov. 3.

In Iowa, about 284,000 children are eligible in that age group to receive the vaccine. That includes an estimated 20,294 children in Linn County and about 11,700 in Johnson County.

It’s unclear how many young Iowans received shots this past week. Health officials said more than 3,700 Iowans received the first dose of a two-dose vaccine in the past seven days, but the number is not broken down by age group or by vaccine.

New cases

Iowa reported 9,067 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, pushing the total cases in Iowa to 500,119 since March 2020 when the virus first appeared in Iowa.

That total — up for the third week in a row — compares to 7,643 cases the previous week and 6,938 new cases the week before that.

This past week’s total also is about 2,000 more new cases than were reported Oct. 20 — 6,907 — according to Gazette analysis of coronavirus data.

Statewide, Iowa’s seven-day positivity rate was 9.4 percent, an increase from the 8.5 percent reported last week.

Those aged 17 and younger continue to hold the top share of positive tests in Iowa, accounting for 23 percent in the past seven days. The previous week, it was 20 percent.

The percentage of new cases by age group was:

Johnson County saw a jump in new COVID-19 cases, with 415 reported infections this past week compared to the previous week’s 269 cases. The positivity rate is 8.5 percent, compared to 6.7 percent last week.

Linn County reported 566 new cases in the past week and a seven-day positivity rate of 9.1 percent. Last week, the county added 505 cases, with a positivity rate of 7.9 percent.

A map from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 97 Iowa counties continue to have the highest rate of community transmission of the novel coronavirus. The only exceptions are Louisa and Buena Vista counties, which are categorized as having a “substantial” rate of transmission.

Hospitalizations

The number of Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19 reached 524 this week, an increase from last week’s 483.

The number of patients in an intensive care unit reached 113, compared to 111 last week. Patients on a ventilator totaled 52, compared to 53 last week.

Those aged 17 or younger represented 5 percent of hospital admissions, a drop from last week’s 8 percent. The 18 to 29 age group represented 3 percent of hospital admissions this past week.

Those not fully vaccinated accounted for 85 percent of the COVID-19 patients in an ICU and 71.6 percent of patients hospitalized because of the virus, according to public health data.

Deaths

State public health officials confirmed 97 new deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past week, compared to 104 deaths the previous week.

Of this past week’s deaths, 18 took place in November, 76 in October and 3 in September.

To date, 7,166 Iowans have died from COVID-19 since the virus first appeared in the state in March 2020.

Six deaths were confirmed among individuals between 18 and 40, bringing that age group’s death toll to 101.

The weekly confirmed death toll among other age groups:

Polk County reported 15 deaths — the most of any county — followed by Woodbury County, which reported 6.

Five deaths occurred in Linn County, bringing the overall COVID-19 death toll to 414.

Black Hawk and Cass counties reported four deaths each, while Clinton, Delaware, Pottawattamie and Wapello counties each reported three deaths.

Two deaths were each reported in Appanoose, Butler, Dubuque, Guthrie, Henry, Iowa, Jasper, Johnson, Kossuth and Montgomery counties.

Counties confirming one death each were Adair, Allamakee, Benton, Bremer, Buena Vista, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clayton, Dallas, Dickinson, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Hardin, Humboldt, Jackson, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Mahaska, Marshall, Monroe, Page, Poweshiek, Story, Taylor, Van Buren, Warren, Washington, Winneshiek counties.

Long-term care

Twenty-nine long-term care facilities in Iowa are reporting a coronavirus outbreak, which is defined as three or more COVID-19 cases among staff and residents.

COVID-19 outbreaks had been decreasing before this past week. Last week, outbreaks had fallen to 23 facilities from 30 the week before.

Comments: (319) 398-8469; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com

John McGlothlen of The Gazette contributed to this report.