683 New Positive Individuals and 7 Deaths Reported Since Jan. 19
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
683 New Positive Individuals and 7 Deaths Reported Since Jan. 19
CDC confirms Omicron less severe than other variants
The COVID-19 Omicron variant became predominant in the United States by late December 2021, leading to a surge in COVID-19 cases and associated emergency department visits and hospitalizations. The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting that 93.1% of all positive COVID-19 cases in Dubuque County throughout the month of December were Omicron. The other 6.9% were Delta.
New data published yesterday by the CDC show that illnesses caused by Omicron are less severe than previous variants, but have still strained US healthcare systems due to the sheer volume of cases.
Despite Omicron causing the highest reported numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations during the pandemic, disease severity indicators, including length of hospital stay, ICU admission, and death, were lower than during previous pandemic peaks.
Although disease severity appears lower with the Omicron variant, the high volume of hospitalizations can strain local health care systems and the average daily number of deaths remains substantial. This underscores the importance of national emergency preparedness, specifically, hospital surge capacity and the ability to adequately staff local health care systems. In addition, being up to date on vaccinations (including boosters) and following other recommended prevention strategies are critical to preventing infections, severe illness, or death from COVID-19.
DUBUQUE COUNTY CHANGES & TOTALS
(Jan. 19 - Jan. 26)
POSITIVE INDIVIDUALS
https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/pages/case-counts
- 683 new positive individuals since Jan. 19.
- Total positive individuals to date = 23,730
HOSPITALIZATIONS
https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/pages/rmcc-data
- 29 County Hospitalizations: Today, MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center has 19 inpatients with COVID-19 and UnityPoint Health – Finley Hospital has 10 for a total of 29 people hospitalized with COVID in Dubuque County. Please note: This count is NOT limited to Dubuque County residents and may include area residents from outside Dubuque County.
- Statewide, 935 Iowans are hospitalized with COVID, 56 fewer than last Wednesday. 62.4% of those currently hospitalized due to COVID and 64.3% of those in ICU due to COVID are unvaccinated individuals. Details at https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/pages/hospital-data
ACTIVE CASES
- 3,488 active cases in Dubuque County. (406 more than Jan. 19)
DEATHS
https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/pages/outcome-analysis-deaths
- 7 new deaths reported since Jan. 19.
- Total deaths related to COVID to date = 279
- Underlying Cause Deaths = 255, Contributing Factor Deaths = 24
COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view
- The CDC continues to rate Dubuque County at the HIGH level of community transmission of COVID-19.
- 7-Day New Case Rate per 100K Population = 1,030.72 (+96.6 from previous 7 days)
- Percent Positivity (last 7 days) = 28.82% (-3.73% change in last 7 days)
VACCINATIONS OF COUNTY RESIDENTS 
https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/pages/vaccineinformation
- 62.9% of all Dubuque County residents are fully vaccinated
- 67.1% of all Dubuque County residents age 5+ are fully vaccinated
- 53.1% of all county residents fully vaccinated have received a booster dose (up-to-date)
- Vaccinations Completed: 61,232
- Vaccinations Started (1st dose): 3,623
For current information on Dubuque County vaccination opportunities, visit www.dubuquecountyiowa.gov/sleevesup or call 563-690-MAKE(6253).
The CDC and FDA are operating a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). To report a reaction or view data, visit https://vaers.hhs.gov/
Please do not reply to this message. If you have questions, please call 563-556-6200.
For current statewide data, please visit coronavirus.iowa.gov/