'The most important public health action'

Local public health departments are urging unvaccinated residents to get the jab as COVID-19 rates and hospitalizations rise statewide.

Clay County Public Health Coordinator Colette Rossiter said local vaccination rates continue to increase weekly, though at a much slower rate than when shots first became available and demand was high. Fifty-five percent of eligible residents in Clay County have been vaccinated and Rossiter noted her office has had many conversations with those still hesitant about getting inoculated.

She reported a "range of diverse opinions regarding vaccinations" among Clay County residents.

"A variety of reasons have been expressed," she said. "Some people are open to being vaccinated, but just haven't done so yet. Others may never choose to be vaccinated."

O'Brien County Public Health Director Kim Morran said locals have had an increased desire to get vaccinated with the rise of the Delta COVID-19 variant. According to the CDC, the strain is much more contagious than its predecessors and comprises 80 percent of all infections.

Morran said politics and a belief that the vaccine is unsafe are the main reasons unvaccinated people cite when she asks why they won't get inoculated. Statewide, 47.6 percent of Iowans have been vaccinated.

"We are urging people to get vaccinated as that is the single most preventative way to protect yourself," Morran said. "The Delta variant is the most prevalent strain out there now and the vaccines cover that variant. The majority of the people that are getting severely ill and being hospitalized from COVID now are the unvaccinated. The vaccines are safe and even if you still get COVID, if you have been vaccinated your symptoms will be less severe or minimal if any at all."

Vaccines are available by contacting either public health department and are also administered at local pharmacies and medical offices.

"By getting vaccinated, you are not just protecting yourself, you are protecting others, especially the young who are not yet eligible for vaccination, from potentially serious illness," said Rossiter. "Getting vaccinated also helps stop the spread of COVID-19, lessening opportunities for the virus to continue to mutate. Vaccination is the most important public health action to end the COVID-19 pandemic."

Seven-day statewide COVID-19 positivity rates were 7.6 percent on Wednesday morning. Local rates were 5 percent in O'Brien County and 7 percent in Clay County. O'Brien County reported one hospitalization while Clay County had none.

Statewide coronavirus-related hospitalizations were up to 355 as of last Thursday, however. Rossiter said that number should prove as warning to locals who think we're out of the woods with the pandemic.

"Vaccination is the best way to protect you and others from becoming seriously ill due to COVID-19," she said. "There is a lot of misinformation being circulated. We encourage you to visit with your healthcare professional."