UI Epidemiologist Concerned About Iowa’s Vaccination Rates

(Iowa City, IA) — COVID-19 hospitalizations in Iowa hit a record low of 46 in late June — but they’ve been spiking this month with 158 reported this week. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics epidemiologist Melanie Wellington says she’s concerned Iowa is headed towards a surge in hospitalizations like the one in Missouri. Wellington says community transmission is definitely on the rapid rise, and vaccination in the state remains relatively low. She says that is a recipe for a lot of people getting infected and those who are not vaccinated at high risk for being hospitalized. Wellington says she’s more worried about those who are not vaccinated than she is of the threat of COVID variants. She notes the vaccines are still very effective at preventing most infections.