COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations on the rise in Iowa with 'constant sizzle' and new variants

Tim Webber, Des Moines Register
·4 min read
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There were more new COVID-19 cases reported in Iowa this week than any week since the start of March, according to data released Wednesday by the Iowa Department of Public Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The state reported 5,187 new COVID-19 cases over the past seven days, the most since the tail end of last winter's omicron variant-fueled surge. That's an average of 741 new cases per day and about 30% more than the relatively consistent case counts of the past month.

The increase is backed up by the most recent data from the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority, which shows that the effective COVID-19 concentration in the city's wastewater nearly doubled from the previous week. Rising virus concentration in sewage has historically been an indicator of rising case counts.

"We're in this constant sizzle," said Dr. Karen Brust, epidemiologist at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. "The pandemic is still here with us. We're still in high community transmission rates and levels, which means there's still a fair amount of people who are becoming infected out in the community."

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa also increased again this week, up to 229, according to the federal health and human services department. That's the highest that number has been in a weekly update since February.

Of those people hospitalized with COVID-19, 23 required intensive care for complications from the disease, an increase of nine from last week.

The increase in Iowa's new reported cases comes as the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants have become the dominant strains of the coronavirus in the U.S. Those two strains have made up about 70% of recent cases in the country. The state health department does not publish data about subvariants on its public dashboard, but data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an increase in BA.5 prevalence over the past several weeks in the region that includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

"I think they've garnered some attention not just because of the frequency that they're being seen, but also because of the increased contagiousness and their ability to evade the immune system," Brust said about the subvariants.

More: Only Iowa college to require COVID-19 vaccines drops mandate after state law bans them

Symptoms of the subvariants are similar to those seen in other variants, and so far, illnesses do not appear to be more severe.

Brust said it was too soon to say how, specifically, BA.5 would affect Iowa in the coming months, but did note that her hospital was expecting to see higher numbers in the end of summer and early fall.

Previously: COVID-19 hospitalizations up, cases steady in Iowa in weekly coronavirus data update

The state health department reported 15 more COVID-19 deaths this week, the same number as the previous week. These deaths likely occurred earlier than last week, however, as it takes time for the health department to verify and publicly report COVID-19 deaths.

Iowa's death toll from the pandemic now stands at 9,718.

The state health department did not release new vaccination data this week, as it is now updating those figures in the first week of each month only. Brust noted that vaccination remains the best protection against COVID-19, as well as other well-established practices such as hand-washing, social distancing and wearing a mask while indoors.

That includes getting a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which offers additional protection against the omicron variant.

"The one thing that I've been reading about, and what I think has been consistently echoed across the nation, is if you're over 50 and you haven't been boosted since the beginning of 2022, it's time to get boosted," Brust said.

Previously: Iowa COVID-19 hospitalizations down while new reported cases maintain recent pace

The latest COVID-19 numbers in Iowa

The latest data, as of 12 a.m. Wednesday, July 13, compared to the previous Wednesday:

  • Confirmed cases: 805,363, an increase of 5,187.

  • Deaths: 9,718, an increase of 15.

Data on the state vaccination rate is now being updated just once a month on the state health department website. As of July 6, 59.1% of Iowans were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

How many people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa?

Note: Hospitalization data for COVID-19 is no longer available through the Iowa Department of Public Health. The data below is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The number of patients on ventilators is no longer included.

  • Hospitalizations: 229, up from 190 one week ago

  • Patients in intensive care: 23, up from 14

Tim Webber is a data visualization specialist for the Register. Reach him at twebber@registermedia.com, 515-284-8532, and on Twitter at @HelloTimWebber.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: COVID-19 in Iowa: Cases, hospitalizations on the rise in weekly update