The Iowa Department of Public Health announced on Friday the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 had been confirmed in seven counties, including Johnson and Linn. According to an IDPH spokesperson, not all the people who tested positive for Omicron had traveled recently or been in close contact with those who had, so it is […]
COVID-19
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COVID-19: Cedar Rapids hospitals suspend elective surgeries; Gov. Reynolds wants National Guard vaccination requirement canceled
The surge in COVID-19 is continuing, according to the latest weekly update from the Iowa Department of Public Health. IDPH reported on Wednesday another 10,476 Iowans had tested positive for the virus during the most recent seven-day period. At the beginning of this reporting period, IDPH announced the State Hygienic Laboratory had detected the first […]
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Dr. Caitlin Pedati, who oversaw Iowa’s COVID-19 response, gets a new job
Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the former medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health and state epidemiologist, who oversaw the Reynolds administration’s minimal approach to COVID-19 mitigation, has found a new job. Pedati, who announced in September she would be stepping down from her Iowa positions in “late October” has been hired by the Virginia […]
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Cedar Rapids schools will allow volunteers and visitors in buildings during class hours again, starting in January
Volunteers will once again be allowed in the buildings of the Cedar Rapids Community School District during school hours starting on Monday, Jan. 3, the district announced on Friday. Volunteers and most visitors had been banned from the school buildings while classes were in session, as part of the district’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts. The prohibition […]
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The first case of the Omicron variant in Iowa has been detected
The first case of the Omicron variant was confirmed in Iowa on Thursday, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) detected the COVID-19 variant in a sample for an unvaccinated resident of Black Hawk County, who is under the age of 18. The person has no symptoms, but was […]
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COVID-19: Iowa adds 13,000 new cases; Gov. Reynolds celebrates legal win; Johnson County passes new mandate
Over the last seven days, Iowa hit new highs for the year in the number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the number of patients hospitalized with the virus, according to the latest weekly update from the Iowa Department of Public Health. IDPH reported 13,039 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, a significant jump […]
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Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: The Haunted Bookshop still found a way to surprise customers during lockdown
Best of the CRANDIC 2021 winner: Most Commendable COVID-19 Mitigation Game, Best Toy Store The Haunted Bookshop has found clever ways to safely recreate the atmosphere of their beloved store, from the popular “Surprise Me!” option, which allows customers to describe their tastes and let booksellers decide the rest, to online browsing via Instagram (@HauntedBookshopIowaCity), […]
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Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: How Dr. Eli Perencevich uses Twitter to fight COVID-19 misinformation
Best of the CRANDIC winner: Best Defender of Science Most people who don’t work in public health first heard of Dr. Eli Perencevich seven months into the pandemic, when the “metrics” (a word Gov. Reynolds repeated endlessly in 2020) underlying the Iowa Department of Public Health’s plan to manage the spread of COVID-19 finally became […]
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President Biden unveils plan to fight COVID spread over winter; hospitalizations in Iowa reach a new high for 2021
“I know COVID-19 has become very divisive in this country, it’s become a political issue, which is a sad, sad commentary,” President Joe Biden said on Thursday. “It shouldn’t be, but it has been. Now as we move into the winter and face the challenges of this new variant, we can put the divisiveness behind […]
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Best of the CRANDIC 2021: COVID-19
The results are in! Browse the winners of Little Village’s 2021 Best of the CRANDIC competition in the COVID-19 category, honoring local experts, advocates and leaders in the second year of the pandemic. Best Defender of Science Dr. Eli Perencevich Twitter: @eliowa ““Dr. Perencevich has been a steady voice of reason and science during the […]
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Judge halts enforcement of federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health workers in Iowa and nine other states
On Monday, a federal judge in Missouri issued a preliminary injunction stopping the Biden administration from enforcing the mandate requiring workers at healthcare facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid dollars to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The injunction only applies to the 10 states who filed the lawsuit against the mandate. Iowa is one of those […]
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Gov. Reynolds says she’s ‘proud’ of COVID numbers ahead of Thanksgiving; IDPH reports more than 10,000 new cases in the last week
“I’m proud of where our numbers are at,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said regarding COVID-19 during a photo-op with two turkeys at the governor’s mansion on Tuesday, “and we’re going to continue to make vaccines available and encourage people to get them if they want to.” According to the Iowa Department of Public Health’s latest data, […]
