IowaBio wants to provide our members useful information during the COVID-19 pandemic. This newsletter compiles information on state, federal and industry action to combat the virus and its impacts.
If your company is helping respond to COVID-19, IowaBio wants to know about it. Please, send any information about what your biotechnology company or organization is doing to help, to Jessica Hyland at Jessica@iowabio.org.
If IowaBio can assist you in getting information out, connecting with public officials, or support your company in another way, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Past IowaBio COVID-19 Update newsletters are now available at www.iowabio.org/COVID19 and can be found under the Industry News tab on the IowaBio website.
Federal News
Yesterday, CDC added vaccine-specific content to its extensive COVID-19 website. CDC’s new resources include information on vaccination planning, how vaccine safety is being ensured, and frequently asked questions. These resources are intended to clarify how COVID-19 vaccine recommendations will be made and how the vaccines will be monitored for safety, in order to build trust and confidence in future COVID-19 vaccines.
CDC anticipates frequent updates to this website, as well as CDC’s Vaccination and Immunization website, as more information becomes available and as vaccines become authorized or approved and recommended for use in the United States. CDC said they are committed to ensuring jurisdictions and federal entities that will be receiving the vaccine have the needed information and guidance to implement an effective COVID-19 vaccination program.
Key Statistics
Iowa
Currently, IDPH has reported on the state’s coronavirus dashboard, 103,015 Iowans have tested positive, up 1,439 from our update yesterday morning, with a total of 879,098 tested. 14 additional deaths were reported since our last update, bringing the total to 1,505 deaths. Now 80,076 Iowans have recovered. The overall positivity rate is 11.7% and the total 14 day rolling average positivity rate is 9.8%. The latest on hospitalizations, including how many patients have been admitted in the last 24 hours can be found here. There are currently 482 hospitalized patients.
School district statistics including positivity rates by county can be found here. According to guidance issued by the Iowa Department of Education, schools may petition to go to hybrid or online learning with less than 50 percent in-person instruction when the per county percentage positivity rates are above 15 percent in a county on average over the past 14 days (rolling average) AND 10% absenteeism among students is expected for in-person learning.
Currently 19 counties are above 15 percent positivity rate over the past 14 days:
