POLK COUNTY, Iowa — In just one week, Iowa's largest county went from moderate levels of COVID-19 transmission to "high," according to the CDC.
Sunday night, the CDC reported a "substantial" level of transmission of COVID-19 for Polk County, but by Monday, the level increased again.
County officials held a press conference Monday afternoon to address the increase and to urge residents to do their part to lower transmission levels.
"The CDC designated Polk County at high risk for transmission of COVID-19 just today around noon," said Polk County Public Health Director Helen Eddy. "It's moving quickly."
"I'm really struggling to understand how we have collectively let ourselves slide back to this level of risk," said Angela Connolly, Polk County supervisor for District 2.
Health officials from across the county said the best way to bring down the level of transmission is to get vaccinated and wear a mask.
"Those who have made the choice to not get vaccinated: what will be the tipping point in [the] number of deaths that you are willing to accept?" questioned Connolly. "Here in Polk County, we have lost over 600 lives to COVID. And I, personally, cannot accept one more."
Data as of last Wednesday from the IDPH says 260 people tested positive for the virus within seven days, bringing the positivity rate to 7%. The state no longer issues daily reports; now, it's just Wednesday. Monday, Polk County Health officials said the positivity rate was 10.32%.
As for vaccine data for the county, which was last updated on Sunday, 252,913 residents are fully vaccinated. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, that means about 51.6% of the county's population is fully vaccinated.
"Nothing is perfect. We are not saying the vaccines are perfect, we are not saying that wearing a mask is perfect, nor washing your hands is perfect," said Dr. Nicole Gilg Gachiani, chief physician quality officer for Broadlawns Medical Center. "However, all of them together lower the risk and help protect our community."
The CDC's website's "high" transmission designation for Polk County means 100 or more cases per 100,000 people were confirmed within seven days.
"We had 19 patients admitted just over this weekend, including our first pediatric patient that we’ve had in four weeks," said Dr. Tracy Ekhardt, chief medical officer at UnityPoint Health Des Moines. "We are watching very closely because we are stretched for beds, we are stretched for nurses, we are stretched for respiratory therapists, all the things we need to care for COVID patients."
The biggest message from health officials, besides wearing masks and practicing other mitigation efforts, was simple: health care workers are tired and need relief.
"We all are tired of educating people. We all are tired of speaking about vaccine each and every day. I am just tired about hearing the excuses that people make," said MercyOne Des Moines Dr. Aneesa Afroze. "‘I don’t think I would get it.’ Well, when are we going to think about the community? When are we going to think about the spread of the virus so rapidly among everybody? Whether you get the disease or not, there’s so many people spreading this around."
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