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COVID-19

IVH tops all Iowa care facilities in COVID-19 outbreaks

More than 50 Iowa nursing homes have experienced a COVID-19 outbreak since the vaccine rollout in December, and the home with the highest number of outbreaks is run by the state itself. The Iowa Veterans Home has experienced five outbreaks over the course of the pandemic, more than any other long-term care facility in Iowa, according to newly released data from the Iowa Department of Public Health. It also has racked up one of the highest total number of infections. During the first 17 months of the pandemic, the IVH has been in outbreak status the equivalent of seven months. The ...

COVID-19 vaccine now required for UnityPoint employees

More than 33,000 employed UnityPoint Health team members, whether they provide direct care to patients or not, will need to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1 this year. “We remain incredibly grateful to our health care providers, who have seen the devastation of COVID-19 up close and personal ...

Worried parents seek change to Iowa school mask mandate ban

DES MOINES — Worried parents with children too young to be vaccinated called on the the Iowa State Board of Education on Thursday to implore Gov. Kim Reynolds to reverse a state law that bans school mask mandates. The parents and some teachers sought to change the ban on mask mandates ...

Reynolds rejects Biden’s call for $100 vaccine incentives

DES MOINES — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has no plans to offer $100 incentives to Iowans to get the coronavirus vaccine after President Joe Biden pleaded with states and local governments to use federal funds to entice people to stop the rapid spread of a virus variant, an aide said Friday. While many states and some Iowa counties have offered incentives for citizens to get a COVID-19 vaccination, Iowa’s governor continues to call for citizens to get vaccinated while repeating that ultimately it’s their choice. Iowa had 49.5% of the population fully immunized as of Thursday, ...

Iowa sued over failure to turn over Test Iowa emails

The Iowa Department of Public Health, already fighting formal complaints claiming it has repeatedly violated Iowa’s Open Records Law, is now being sued over access to records related to a $26 million no-bid contract. Suzette Rasmussen, a lawyer from Draper, Utah, is suing the Iowa ...

Iowa’s COVID cases jump nearly 250% in two weeks

Iowa’s daily COVID-19 cases have spiked nearly 250 percent in the past two weeks, but remain at levels similar to the beginning of the pandemic early last year, the New York Times reported. There are signs of trouble in the latest rise in Iowa cases, as the more contagious delta variant continues to dominate. Though the state averaged 225 new COVID-19 cases a day as of Sunday, up 242 percent in two weeks, there were 574 new cases on Saturday. On several recent days, Iowa recorded 300 or more new cases, the Times reported. As recently as July 9, the state’s daily average for ...