Reynolds encourages vaccinations, Covid-19 dashboard increases updates

(ABC 6 News) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds encouraged Iowans to get vaccinated as the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads throughout the state.

Reynolds said Thursday during a news conference that 99 percent of cases in Iowa are from the Delta variant, while 90 percent of COVID patients currently admitted to an ICU are unvaccinated.

The Iowa Department of Public Health said that it will now update the state’s Covid-19 case data three times a week.

Back in July, the department switched to updating its covid-19 dashboard once a week instead of daily.

"I believe the government’s role in a public health crisis is to provide the public reliable information so they can make their own informed decisions. I also believe this approach is more effective than mandates that attempt to dictate other peoples’ behavior," Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said at a press conference Thursday.

The department will also make hospitalization data more prominent and add the vaccination status of people hospitalized.