Despite weakening vaccine interest, Iowa confirms 9 COVID-19 deaths over weekend

Iowa counties that declined all or some of this week’s doses of the COVID-19 vaccine because of waning interest confirmed five of the nine virus-related deaths reported this weekend in the state, according to public health data.

Cerro Gordo, Hardin, Pocahontas, Warren and Woodbury counties each confirmed a death caused by COVID-19. The five were among 80 of Iowa’s 99 counties that turned down vaccines citing a lack of public interest. In addition, over the weekend, Polk County confirmed two virus related deaths; and Mitchell County and Pottawattamie County each reported one.

According to state data, the newest confirmed deaths date as far back as December. They bring the state’s total number of COVID-19 deaths to 5,959 since the first one was reported on March 24, 2020.

Vaccines

About 42 percent of Iowans age 16 and above — 1,054,926 people — had been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, the state reported.

Residents of Linn and Johnson counties continue to be vaccinated at higher rates then the state average. In Linn, about 45 percent of those 16 and up — or 81,866 people — were fully vaccinated as of Sunday. In Johnson, about 52 percent of the 16-and-up population — or 64,705 people ——had been vaccinated.

New cases

In a 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Sunday, 326 new COVID-19 cases were added in Iowa, bringing the total number of confirmed positives to 365,490.

Linn County added 25 of those cases, for a total of 20,638. Johnson County added 16 for a total of 14,368.

Children aged 17 and under accounted for 66 of the new cases, or about 20 percent of the new positives in the 24-hour period, according to the public health data.

Hospitalizations

Patients being treated for COVID-19 in Iowa hospitals dropped from 189 to 179 people. Those in intensive care inched down from 44 to 42, but those placed on ventilators to help breath increased from 18 to 26.