Almost 263,000 get COVID-19 vaccinations in Iowa

Almost 263,800 individuals in Iowa have received complete doses of a COVID-19 vaccine as of 11 a.m. Saturday.

A total of 864,749 individual doses have been administered, according to Iowa Department of Public Health data and as analyzed by The Gazette.

Three additional deaths related to coronavirus were confirmed on Saturday, for a total of 5,552 since March of this past year.

New cases

The state public health department recorded 538 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Saturday morning. That marked a seven-day average of 464.

Linn County reported 14 new cases, with a seven-day average of 18. Johnson County, with 32 cases, had a seven-day average of 15.

The New York Times's COVID-19 tracker listed 65,682 new cases as of midnight Saturday.

Vaccinations

More than 12 percent of Linn County's population has been fully vaccinated as of Saturday, with 21,211 individuals having completed a full series. A total of 64,075 have been administered in the county.

In Johnson County, more than 16 percent of its population has received a complete series of vaccinations, for 19,433 individuals. A total of 54,744 doses have been administered.

The state said 864,749 total doses had been administered - up 42,291 from the day before.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday morning said some 29.8 million Americans have been given the full series of vaccines. Approximately 57.4 million got at least one dose of a vaccine.

Iowans younger than 65 will be eligible to receive the vaccine beginning Monday if they have underlying medical conditions that put them at an increased risk of severe illness from the virus.

' Iowa's 211 call center starting Tuesday will be able to help those 65 and older schedule a vaccination appointment.

' In the Corridor, those 65 and older can be put on a waiting list for an appointment by calling the Eastern Iowa Health Center at (319) 730-7300, and pressing option 6.

' The Community Health Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids, at (319) 200-2550, also is compiling a waiting list for people 65 and older. It takes calls from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday through Thursday.

Hospitalizations

The number of Iowans hospitalized due to COVID-19 dropped for the second consecutive day as of Saturday morning's data, to 170 from 176 on Friday.

Thirty-eight patients were in intensive-care units and 10 were on ventilators.

Long-term care

Ten current outbreaks were reported statewide in connection to long-term care centers, but none in the Corridor.

Two more coronavirus-related deaths were reported at long-term care centers, for a total of 2,193 over the past 12 months.

The Gazette's Stephen Colbert contributed to this report.