COVID vigilance still needed

It’s been two years since the outbreak of COVID-19. The cases and hospitalizations have been dropping each week since November in Iowa. According to The Des Moines Register, “The number of people hospitalized in Iowa with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, Feb. 23, was 345, according to the health and human services department. That’s the lowest that number has been since mid-August 2021. There was an even steeper drop in the number of those patients requiring intensive care, which was nearly halved over the past week.”

Loy Avila, an anesthesiologist for Waterloo medical center Covenant, has been dealing with COVID-19 cases since the outbreak. “For a few weeks now, we’ve been getting a lot fewer patients compared to a year ago, in view of the fact that COVID-19 patients that come in aren’t as critical and sick as patients back then. Plus, the hours that I put in for work aren’t as intense.”
Although the reported hospitalizations and cases of COVID-19 patients are declining in Iowa, it was also reported from the DesMoines Register that the week of Feb. 23, more than 187 deaths from the virus sent Iowa above 9,000 for the COVID-19 death poll. Avila said he still believes that we should still be responsible and take care of ourselves during this time. “Although the cases are declining, they are still being reported each day, so we shouldn’t get too comfortable just yet. There is always the chance that COVID-19 creates a new variant.”

Avila said Iowans can push toward how life was pre COVID-19 if everyone takes other people’s health into consideration. “There are many factors we all have to take into account in order to keep our loved ones safe. For the young crowd, we still ask for you guys to be cautious because even if you get sick and aren’t as affected. You can still act as a transfer for older folks. Most importantly, I would get the vaccine if you aren’t vaccinated already. Of course, people are going to have their personal reasons to not get vaccinated, but if you want to benefit  our future and the lives of many, getting a little poke is the biggest sacrifice you will have to make.” 

Those looking for vaccination information can visit ://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html for more information.