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Public Health News_091021

COVID-19

Black Hawk County Public Health News

 September 10, 2021

CURRENT BLACK HAWK COUNTYCOVID-19 STATUS

11.8% = 14-DayAverage Percent Positive in Black Hawk County

48 = New Positive Cases for 9/10/21

64.2% of Black Hawk County residents (12+) that have received at least 1 COVID-19 vaccine as of 9/6/21

 

PATH OUTOF THE PANDEMIC: PRESIDENT BIDEN’S COVID-19 ACTION PLAN

https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/


Vaccinating the Unvaccinated

·      Requiring All Employers with 100+ Employees to Ensure Workers are Vaccinated or Tested Weekly

·      Requiring Vaccinations for all Federal Workers and for Millions of Contractors

·      Requiring COVID-⁠19 Vaccinations for Over 17 Million Health Care Workers at Medicare and Medicaid Participating Hospitals and Other Health Care Settings

·      Calling on Large Entertainment Venues to Require Proof of Vaccination or Testing for Entry

·      Requiring Employers to Provide Paid Time Off to Get Vaccinated

Further Protecting the Vaccinated

Implementation of this plan depends on authorization of boosters by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommendations by the CDC’s independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). As soon as authorizations are given, the Administration will be prepared to offer booster shots, starting the week of September 20th.

·      Providing Easy Access to Booster Shots for All Eligible Americans

·      Ensuring Americans Know Where to Get a Booster

Keeping Schools Safety Open

·      Requiring Staff in Head Start Programs, Department of Defense Schools, and Bureau of Indian Education-Operated Schools to be Vaccinated

·      Calling on All States to Adopt Vaccine Requirements for All School Employees

·      Providing Additional Funding to School Districts for Safe School Reopening, Including Backfilling Salaries and Other Funding Withheld by States for Implementing COVID Safety Measures

·      Using the Department of Education’s Full Legal Authority to Protect Students’ Access to In-Person Instruction

·      Getting Students and School Staff Tested Regularly

·      Providing Every Resource to the FDA to Support Timely Review of Vaccines for Those Under12

Protecting our Economic Recovery

·      New Support for Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-⁠19

·      Streamlining the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Process

·      Launching the Community Navigator Program to Connect Small Businesses to the Help They Need

Improving Care for those with COVID-19

·      Increasing Support for COVID-Burdened Hospitals

·      Getting Life-Saving Monoclonal Antibody Treatment to Those Who Need It

·      Expanding the Pool of Health Care Professionals Providing Treatment by Deploying Federal Monoclonal Antibody Strike Teams

 

Vaccines: COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in the community. Visit the Black Hawk County Health Department website or vaccinate.iowa.gov for additional information. Vaccines remain the most powerful tool we have against COVID-19.


Testing:
Iowans have the option for at-home testing and may choose to pick up a test kit from a site in their community or have a kit sent to their home at no cost. Visit testiowa.com for more information. Test kits can be picked up in Waterloo at:

·      Peoples Community Health Clinic: 905 Franklin Street, Waterloo

·      ACE-SAP Free Clinic: 207 Logan Avenue, Waterloo

 

Testing is offered throughout the community at pharmacies and health care clinics including MercyOne, Peoples Community Health Clinic and UnityPoint Health along with local and national pharmacies.