West DSM News

Polk County continues to lead all other Iowa counties in COVID-19 statistics, including the most positive tests and the most deaths, according to the latest figures posted by the state and just days before the school year is set to begin.

As of Aug. 26, Polk County has tested more than 811,00, of whom more than 70,000 tested positive. Of that number, almost 59,000 have recovered and 655 have died, to the coronavirus page on the state's website.

Polk County Health Department Director Helen Eddy | pharmacy.uiowa.edu/news/

Those numbers are out of the more than 5.6 million tested in the state, of whom almost 433,000 tested positive, more than 373,000 recovered and 6,268 have died.

Polk County's COVID-19 rankings are well ahead of Linn County, where more than 811,000 have been tested, almost 25,000 tested positive, more than 21,000 have recovered and 346 have died.

In third place is Black Hawk County, where more than 259,000 have been tested, almost 20,000 tested positive, almost 17,000 have recovered and 328 have died.

The coronavirus statistics for Iowa aren't broken down by variants but, if the state is following national trends, Iowa probably is seeing its share of newer COVID-19 variants.

"Experts say with the more transmissible Delta variant now [is] accounting for NEARLY 99% of cases in the U.S., the situation is growing particularly dangerous for children," Polk County Health Department said in a Thursday, Aug. 19 Facebook post.

The Facebook post came the same day that Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that COVID-19 is still surging in Polk County ahead of the beginning of the school year.

"Our hospitals are full. Our health care workers are tired," Polk County Health Department Director Helen Eddy said, according to Iowa Capital Dispatch. "This is what keeps me up at night."

Less than half of Polk County teens are eligible to be vaccinated and, of them, only 43.5% have received the vaccine, according to the news story.

In an Aug. 18 news story, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported a jump of 68% in Iowa COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were up about 77% during the prior two weeks. State officials plan to offer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots starting in late September and incentives are being considered to encourage mask-wearing in the face of state law that prevents the state's schools from implementing mask mandates, according to the story.

Until Aug. 22, Polk County residents who got vaccinated were entered into a lottery for a chance to win $50,000. The Polk County Health Department is still giving out free COVID-19 test kits at the front desk of the department's location at 1907 Carpenter Avenue in Des Moines, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.