Hunter
01/12/23
New cases of COVID-19 decreased slightly in the last week. That’s according to data released Wednesday by the Iowa Department of Public Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The state reported 2201 new cases, roughly 314 per day, down from the approximately 322 per day the previous week. Hospitalizations are down to 222, the lowest since November. Those hospitalized in intensive care jumped from 17 to 23.
The XBB.1.5 variant, a more contagious strain, accounted for about 28 percent of all new cases nationally, up from 18 percent the week before. The variant has not proven more lethal in recent weeks.
The Des Moines Register reports that 60% of the state is now fully vaccinated, but only about 17% of Iowans have also received one of the new bivalent booster dose. The bivalent doses were designed for particular effectiveness against the newer omicron variants, and appear to also be effective against the XBB.1.5 variant.
45 more deaths were reported, bringing the toll since the pandemic began to 10,508.