COVID
New Omicron variant begins spreading in Iowa
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The XBB.1.5 COVID-19 subvariant — a new version of the Omicron variant — is slowly growing in Iowa.
State of play: XBB.1.5 makes up about 28% of COVID cases in the country and is the fourth most prevalent strain here in Iowa.
When Iowans should get the new COVID vaccine booster
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The updated COVID-19 booster started rolling out this week in Des Moines. As winter approaches, health officials say some people should start making plans to get it as soon as possible.
Why it matters: COVID-19 has mutated so quickly that vaccinations were in need of an update to target strains like Omicron that now account for the majority of U.S. cases, writes Axios' Tina Reed and Adriel Bettelheim.
Travel up, COVID precautions down as Iowa heads into Labor Day
Most Americans are not taking extra steps to avoid COVID-19 before they go on vacation, according to an Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index taken a few weeks ago.
Why it matters: The perception of personal risk has fallen to the point where even more frequent hand washing and sanitizing — the most common precaution — is not in play for most travelers, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim reports.
CDC estimates 85% of Iowa kids have had COVID
Nearly 85% of Iowa kids have already been infected with COVID-19, new CDC data show.
Driving the news: The CDC released the results of its latest pediatric antibody seroprevalence survey last week.
Nearly 3,000 of Iowa's COVID deaths were preventable, analysis finds
Vaccines could have prevented nearly 3,000 COVID-related deaths in Iowa between January 2021 and last month, according to a new analysis by Brown University's School of Public Health.
The big picture: The analysis suggests that roughly half of the more than 641,000 deaths nationwide since 2021 could have been prevented, Axios' Tina Reed reports.
Des Moines may mask back up, mayor says
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Des Moines may reinstate a mask policy if cases continue to escalate, Mayor Frank Cownie warned during a council work session Tuesday.
Driving the news: Iowa averaged around 505 new COVID cases per day in the last week, according to The New York Times tracker. That's more than double the average two weeks ago.
Report: U.S. meatpackers pushed plants to stay open despite ample supply
A Tyson Foods Inc. facility in Lexington, Nebraska, on April 24, 2020. Photo: Dan Brouillette/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Leaders of several large U.S. meatpacking companies pushed the narrative that meat was in short supply in the country back in April 2020, despite sitting on ample supply, according to a U.S. House committee report released Thursday.
Why it matters: That was one of the narratives used by industry leaders to pass an executive order that protected meatpackers from shutdowns and stricter oversight by local health departments, despite mass COVID-19 infections within factories.
World Food Prize recipients warn G7 of growing hunger crisis
World Food Prize Laureate Lawrence Haddad spoke at the Iowa State Capitol in 2018. He is one of 25 prize recipients who signed a letter sent Thursday to world leaders warning of mass famine. Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Des Moines Register via Imagn
More than two dozen World Food Prize recipients are calling for more action on three problems they say threaten to reverse progress in the fight against world hunger: COVID-19, climate change and conflict.
Why it matters: 45 million people are living on the edge of famine, according to the World Food Programme.
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