Michaela Ramm

Staff at MercyOne facilities across Iowa are required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by this fall, diverging from other local hospitals when it comes to mandating shots for employees.

Dozens of patients arrived at local emergency rooms this weekend with fireworks-related injuries, including burns and traumatic hand injuries, local hospitals report.

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Starting immediately, Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids is expanding hospital visiting hours and allowing more visitors per patient as COVID-19 cases continue to decrease.

Iowa Department of Public Health is implementing new COVID-19 reporting requirements starting in July, which will affect how data is reported on its public-facing coronavirus website.

The Iowa City-based hospital will end its affiliation agreement with the statewide MercyOne health network, The Gazette confirmed Wednesday.

The Iowa Supreme Court issued a 6-1 ruling upholding a 2019 state law that blocks Planned Parenthood from receiving federal grants to offer sex education and other related services.

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Between both Cedar Rapids hospitals, only one vaccinated individual, who had underlying health conditions, has been hospitalized for COVID-19. The vast majority of admissions in recent months have been among residents who are not immunized, proving to local health care officials the vaccine is effective in preventing serious illness and death.

Mercy Medical Center broke ground Thursday on Hallmar Village, a 237-unit senior living community in northeast Cedar Rapids that officials hope will become a comprehensive center for the needs of aging Iowans.

District Court Judge Mitchell Turner issued a ruling that declared the 2020 law unconstitutional. Abortion rights advocates had asserted it placed an undue burden on women seeking the medical procedure.

Effective June 24, UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital will expand its visitor hours and restrictions on visiting age will be lowered to include those aged 12 and older.

Experts say at least 70 percent of a population needs to be vaccinated in order to create herd immunity against the novel coronavirus. But as demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has dropped sharply in parts of the state, Iowa’s local public health officials aren’t confident their communities will reach that threshold.

Linn County’s Public Health Director says the state needs to strengthen local public health infrastructure.

As Test Iowa prepares to close next month, state health officials say they will continue to report daily positive COVID-19 cases to Iowa’s public-facing coronavirus dashboard.