State of Iowa to update online Covid-related data three times a week

DES MOINES — The Iowa Department of Public Health is shifting from weekly to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday updates of Covid related information on hospitalizations, testing data, and deaths of Iowans from Covid.

“We know there’s an intense interest and need and we’ve packaged what we hopes resonates and shows what today looks like in our system,” Iowa Department of Public Health acting director Kelly Garcia said Thursday.

Garcia called it a “refresh” of the website. The dashboard highlights how many hospital patients with Covid have not been vaccinated. Thursday’s number shows 90% of all Iowa hospital patients with the virus have not gotten a Covid shot. In July, the department had shifted to posting this kind of information once a week.

“We know that as the virus evolves, as we see states struggling with high case counts in the south and as we hit another milestone in our response it’s time to make another shift. We owe it to you to share and ensure that you have access to clear information,” Garcia said during a news conference in the governor’s office. “And I want you to hear it from me: every day, all along, internally, we are looking at critical data points.”

The information about Covid-related hospitalizations that will be posted today and three times a week thereafter will be raw data. It will be confirmed by public health department staff and a weekly report will be posted in a different spot on the state website. As of last night, 524 patients in Iowa hospitals had Covid. The latest information on Covid cases statewide shows that in the past week, 22% of the Iowans who got a positive result from a Covid test were under the age of 18.