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County COVID death total continues to grow

Cases slowing while vaccinations increase

AP PHOTO In this 2020 file photo, a COVID-19 vaccination record card is shown at Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Calif.

Iowa has recorded another 100 new deaths related to COVID-19 in the last week, including one in Marshall County.

The county has reported 85 deaths since the start of the pandemic with at least one new death per week for more than a month, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. In total, Iowa accounts for 6,848 of the 719,347 COVID deaths across the country.

Fifty-six percent of deaths reported in the state have occurred among people 80 and older. Ninety-two percent of people who have died with COVID-19 had a pre-existing condition.

Transmission of the virus remains high in Marshall County and around the United States in general, but Iowa is seeing a downturn in positive cases over the last three weeks. Iowa’s seven-day rate of positive cases is down from more than nine percent two weeks ago to eight percent this week. Marshall County is down from four to three percent.

With 22 percent of all new cases, children 17 and younger represent the age group with the most positive cases in the last week. Adults 80 and older have the least with four percent, although it is a slight increase from one month ago.

Marshall County has recorded a total of 6,902 positive cases, or 17,532 per 100,000 population. By comparison, Miami-Dade County in Florida has one of the highest rates of transmission in the country and has 24,584 positive cases and 238 deaths per 100,000 population, according to USAFacts.org.

There are 557 people in Iowa hospitals with COVID-19 infection, including 59 admitted in the last 24 hours. One hundred forty two patients are in intensive care, and about 26 percent of inpatient beds and 182 ICU beds are available across the state. The IDPH no longer reports how many patients are on ventilators on its website.

There are 25 active COVID outbreaks in long-term care facilities. More than 67 percent of Iowans 18 and older are fully vaccinated, and more than 69 percent of children 12 or older have received at least one vaccine dose. Meanwhile, more than 79 percent of ICU patients are not fully vaccinated. COVID-19 infection currently makes up 77 percent of hospitalizations.

In Marshall County, more than 71 percent of people 18 or older are fully vaccinated, and 69 percent of children 12 and older have taken at least one dose. For people 65 and older, more than 92 percent have been fully vaccinated. Overall, about 57 percent of the county is vaccinated.

Just over half (1.9 million) of the 3.6 million vaccine doses administered in Iowa have come from Pfizer. People who received the Pfizer vaccine are recommended to receive a booster shot six months after completing their two shot round of vaccination if they are between 18 and 49 years old with underlying medical conditions, or between 18 and 64 years old and at an increased risk of COVID exposure because of occupation or living in an institutional setting.

COVID-19 IN MARSHALL COUNTY

• Seven day percent of positive test rate: 3%

• Seven day number of cases: 55

• CDC transmission level: High

• Fully vaccinated: 71%

• New deaths this week: 1

• Total deaths: 85

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Contact Joe Fisher at

news@timesrepublican.com.

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