Washington County received its first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday.
County Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski announces that they have initially received 600 doses of the vaccine, which will be prioritized to people most vulnerable to the virus and those in critical industries, as defined by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and Infectious Disease Advisory Committee. The priority populations in Phase 1A will include long-term care residents, long-term care workers and healthcare workers with direct patient care.
As more vaccine becomes available the priority groups will open up to allow additional groups and individuals to be vaccinated. Phase 1B will include essential frontline workers and those 75 years of age and older. Phase 1C is anticipated to include essential workers, those aged 65-74 years old, and those 16-74 years old with high-risk medical conditions. Pettit-Majewski says that by mid-2021, enough COVID-19 vaccine shou
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By Mary Zielinski
With both Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations now in Iowa, the Washington County Public Health Department is awaiting vaccine administration approval from the federal government and the Disease Advisory Committee. The department will follow the statewide standing order for COVID-19 vaccination issued in December. The order was reviewed at the monthly board meeting on Thursday, Dec. 17, where it learned health services in the county will receive the Moderna vaccine, which is easier to store than the Pfizer one.
The department is also planning to meet the federal priorities starting with front-line health care providers and permanent care facility residents, followed by Phase 1B which is front-line essential workers and persons 75 and older, as recommended by the CDC.
Washington County’s positive case numbers as of December 15th, courtesy of Washington County Public Health.
Iowa added about 254 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths in the last week, including additional deaths in Washington and contiguous counties.
In the last week Washington County has seen three new deaths, bringing its total to 26. For contiguous counties, Jefferson saw the largest increase in deaths in the past week with six new deaths bringing its total to 18, and Iowa County was the only one whose tally remains the same since December 11th with 19 deaths. All other contiguous counties saw at least one new death with Henry at 20, Johnson at 45, Keokuk at 18, and Louisa at 23.
Washington County Public Health says getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever during the 2020-2021 season to protect yourself and those around you from the flu, and help reduce the strain on healthcare systems during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone six months and older, and while it does not prevent COVID-19, the vaccine will reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths, and help conserve scarce medical resources for the care of those with COVID-19, “We want to make sure that we reduce our disease burden on our healthcare systems as much as possible so by getting that flu shot and trying to reduce the influenza activity, that will also help ensure that we have hospital beds for those who need them for other things.”
Warren County on Saturday reported that there were more people under mandatory quarantine than at any point in the pandemic, while Washington County officials warned that contact tracing efforts are taking longer due to the surge in coronavirus cases.
There are 443 people under mandatory quarantine in Warren County, the most at any one time since the pandemic took root in New York in March, according to Warren County Health Services. The county also reported 20 additional cases and 20 additional recoveries.
Five of the new cases are related to previous exposures, while three others contracted the virus after being exposed by a household member. Two other cases are related to workplace exposure.