Linn and Johnson outpace state in rate of adults completing COVID-19 shots

A week after the state broadly opened up eligibility, nearly 30 percent of all Iowans age 16 and up have been vaccinated against the symptoms of COVID-19, according to public health data released Sunday.

The figures show 742,985 Iowans have completed the vaccination series, representing about 29.6 percent of Iowans 16 years and older. No vaccine has yet been approved for younger children. In all, Iowa providers have administered 1,865,510 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

The rates in Linn and Johnson are slightly higher than the statewide percentage. In Linn County, 55,486 people have been fully vaccinated — or about 30.75 percent of its 16-and-up population. In Johnson County, that percentage is about 34.64, or 43,058 people.

New cases

Iowa added 432 new coronavirus cases within a 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Sunday. The addition brings the state’s total number of cases since the onset of the pandemic to 356,893.

Linn County added 34 of the new cases, for a total of 20,155. Johnson County added 30 cases, for a total of 13,856.

Statewide, 57 cases of children age 17 and younger were added in the 24-hour period, for a total so far of 41,434.

Hospitalizations

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Iowa hospitals did not significantly change in the 24-hour period. Hospitalizations dropped from 218 to 212 in the 24 hours. However, the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care inched up from 52 to 54, and those on ventilators increased from 19 to 20, according to the data.

Deaths

No new COVID-19 deaths in Iowa were confirmed Sunday morning. That leaves the total number of Iowans who have died as a result of the disease since March 2020 at 5,857.

Beginning Monday, a massive federal aid program to help families who lost a loved one to the disease opens. The Biden administration plans to give up to $9,000 to cover the burial costs of each American who died of the disease, the largest program of its type ever offered by the federal government. The program is open to families, regardless of their income, as long as they show documentation and have not already gotten similar benefits through another program.

Call 844-684-6333 to apply; online applications will not be accepted.