More than 1.5 million vaccines have been administered in Iowa as of Wednesday

More than 1.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Iowa since Dec. 14, 2020, when the first Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were administered to health care workers in the state.

As of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, 1,515,826 vaccine doses had been administered in the state - an increase of 27,670 from Tuesday - with 1,459,906 shots going to Iowa residents, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

The state reported 577,630 Iowans were fully vaccinated, an increase of 10,641 from Tuesday. That's 18.31 percent of all Iowans and 23.01 percent of adult Iowans (16 and older).

Within the state, including non-Iowans, 601,202 people have been fully vaccinated. Some 561,546 people have completed the Moderna or Pfizer two-dose vaccine, while 39,656 have received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

In Linn County, 111,510 vaccine doses have been administered, with 44,375 fully vaccinated. That's 24.59 percent of the county's adult residents.

In Johnson County, 89,405 shots have been given, with 35,618 people fully vaccinated. That's 28.65 percent of the county's adult population.

New Cases

The state on Wednesday reported 515 new COVID-19 cases and 14 new, confirmed deaths.

The additions bring Iowa's total cases to 350,841 and deaths to 5,743 since last March.

The new cases were identified 16,201 tests in the 244-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Wednesday, making for a 24-hour positivity rate of 3.3 percent.

The state's seven-day average for new cases is 539.

Of Wednesday's new cases, 81 were among youth 17 and younger, raising the total for that age group to 40,382 since last March

New case data was not reported for Linn and Johnson counties on Tuesday, so the following totals span 48 hours instead of 24.

Linn County added 43 new COVID-19 cases in the 48 hours ending at 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to data analyzed by The Gazette. The county's total number of cases since last March is 19,870 and its seven-day average is 15.

Johnson County added 60 new cases over the 48-hour period, bringing its total number of cases to 13,544. The county's seven-day average is 23.

Deaths

The 14 deaths reported Wednesday took place between Dec. 14 and March 26. Four were individuals over age 81; eight were between 61 and 80; and two were between 41 and 60.

Polk and Pottawattamie counties each reported two deaths. Counties reporting one death each were Linn, Johnson, Black Hawk, Cass, Crawford, Dubuque, Muscatine, Sac, Winneshiek and Wright.

Since the start of the pandemic, 325 people have died of the virus in Linn County, and 79 have died in Johnson County.

Hospitalizations

As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, 191 people were being treated for COVID-19 in Iowa's hospitals, an increase of five from the day before.

The number of patients in intensive care decreased from 45 to 38. The number of patients on ventilators remained at 11.

Long-term care facilities

The number of COVID-19 outbreaks in Iowa's long-term care facilities - defined as three or more cases among residents and staff - remained at two Wednesday, with 16 people being treated for the virus.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,235 people have died from the virus in the state's long-term care facilities. That's 39 percent of the state's death toll.

Comments: (319) 398-8238; kat.russell@thegazette.com