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‘Extremely frustrating’: Linn County will not be receiving additional COVID-19 vaccines despite IDPH expanding eligibility

Linn County will not be receiving additional COVID-19 vaccines from the state despite the Iowa Department of Public Health expanding the number of individuals who will become eligible to be vaccinated. The Iowa Department of Health announced on Thursday that adults under 65 who have a condition the CDC recognizes as putting them at higher […]

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Linn County will receive an increased number of COVID-19 vaccines through the end of February

Linn County’s vaccine allocation will increase for the remainder of February, although public health officials are still expecting it to take “weeks to months” to vaccinate residents in Phase 1B. Starting this week, the county will receive about 3,000 doses per week for the next three weeks, said Heather Meador, Linn County Public Health’s Clinical […]

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Linn County will begin offering COVID-19 vaccine to residents 65 and older starting Tuesday

Linn County residents 65 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting on Tuesday, but vaccine supply remains limited, Linn County Public Health officials announced Monday. MercyCare clinics, UnityPoint Health Clinics and various independent healthcare providers will begin contacting patients on Monday to provide an opportunity to schedule a vaccination appointment. Residents […]

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Linn County has only received an ‘extremely limited’ supply of COVID-19 vaccine, health officials say

Doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are arriving in Iowa and Linn County “very slowly,” and supply of the vaccine is “extremely limited,” according to Linn County Public Health. County public health and medical officials from the local hospitals urged residents during a LCPH news conference to remain patient as it might take the county longer […]

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Healthcare workers in Linn County begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine

Two Linn County hospitals received their first allotment of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, Linn County Public Health (LCPH) announced in a news release. Mercy Medical Center and UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital each received 975 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to distribute to frontline healthcare workers as part of the first phase of vaccine distribution. […]

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‘We are hanging by a thread’: Cedar Rapids officials call on governor to issue mask mandate; CRCSD gets waiver to move classes online

“Everything is increasing — the spread, the positive COVID cases, the hospitalizations, the deaths,” State Senator Liz Mathis said at the start of a virtual news conference on Thursday, the same day Linn County surpassed 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Mathis’ district, which includes Cedar Rapids, Marion, Robins, Hiawatha, Bertram, Ely and southern Linn County, […]

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Mount Mercy University adjusts to fall semester shaped by the derecho, COVID-19 and its president resigning

Students and faculty at Mount Mercy University (MMU) in Cedar Rapids are adjusting to a new normal this fall semester. When students began their semester in early September — whether that was through online or hybrid instruction — the campus was already dealing the impacts of the Aug. 10 derecho and the COVID-19 pandemic. Two […]

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Derecho relief: Survey asks Linn County residents about their needs; FEMA is closing Cedar Rapids center

Linn County agencies have created a questionnaire to identify what residents still need in the aftermath of the Aug. 10 derecho. County residents impacted by the derecho are encouraged to complete the questionnaire. Linn County Public Health, HACAP and Waypoint partnered with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to create the assessment. The information provided […]

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Q&A: Two contact tracers at Linn County Public Health discuss their job and what they’re seeing during the county’s current surge

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Linn County — and across Iowa — continue to increase daily. As of Thursday morning, Linn County Public Health was reporting 2,204 confirmed cases in the county and 87 deaths. There are 299 active cases, according to LCPH. Community spread makes up nearly 70 percent of the county’s total confirmed […]

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