Public health officials watch COVID-19 rise in Delta-dominated Linn County

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Linn County Public Health says COVID-19 cases are still on the rise as virus transmission remains high.

One of the great opportunities to get carried away in a public conference by county department officials and local hospitals was the prevalence of the most transmissible delta variant. Linn County provides continuous updates to its COVID-19 board. According to the data, there are more than 1,500 active cases in the county.

Of the cases reported so far in August, it is determined that 83% was the delta variant. New cases, in general, are up almost 13% from last week.

Those receiving the first dose of vaccine also increase slightly. During the first two weeks of August, the percentage of the population of Linn County that has begun its series of vaccines increased from more than 1.5% to almost 58%. 54.5% of the county’s population is completely vaccinated.

Linn County Public Health said approval of the Pfizer vaccine could make a difference.

“We’ll wait and see if that increases our vaccination rates, but again, the gold standard is shown, the best practice the Pfizer vaccine has met with full approval,” said Heather Meador, with the agency. “It’s a safe and effective vaccine.”

As the Food and Drug Administration considers reinforcing features for the general public, the number of advanced cases in hospitals is increasing. A couple of weeks ago at Mercy Medical Center, 15% of patients were completely vaccinated. Today it is 35%.

Dr. Tony Myers of Mercy said the most critically ill are not vaccinated. He said vaccines are still the best tool we have against serious illness and death.

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