Iowa News
Iowa is tossing thousands of expiring COVID shots
Iowa has started tossing out tens of thousands of expiring COVID vaccine doses as demand for the shots continues to sag. The state has discarded 81,186 doses of the vaccine so far. Public health officials say they’ve seen a bit more interest in the shots recently, as the highly transmissible delta variant fuels a resurgence of the pandemic. But demand is still far below what it was in April, when the shots first became available to all adults. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that just 59% of eligible Iowans had been fully vaccinated. Des Moines Register
COVID-19 numbers force MercyOne to restrict visitors again
Effective Monday, MercyOne North Iowa Medical center will allow one visitor per person, per day, unless otherwise noted. The restrictions have been determined by the number of active COVID-19 cases in the community and are updated as needed. With the revised restrictions, no in-person visitors are allowed for COVID-19 patients except under special circumstances. Globe Gazette
MercyOne, Broadlawns join other Des Moines hospitals in requiring employee COVID shots
All Des Moines area hospitals will require employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. MercyOne Medical Center and Broadlawns Medical Center announced Tuesday that they’re invoking such mandates amid a resurgence of the pandemic. UnityPoint Health and the Veterans Medical Center had announced earlier this summer that they would mandate the vaccine for employees. Together, the four health systems run eight hospitals and numerous clinics in the Des Moines area. Des Moines Register
National News
Texas hospital system is prepping tents to deal with rapid surge in Covid-19 patients
A hospital system in Texas is prepping tents for the overflow of patients after a surge in COVID-19 cases filled its hospitals to the verge of capacity. Harris Health System in Houston is reporting 1 in 4 patients at its two hospitals have tested positive for COVID-19. Ben Taub Hospital’s intensive care unit is at 95% capacity with 27% of utilization by COVID-19 patients and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where the tents are being set up, is at 100% ICU utilization with 63% Covid cases. CNN
HHS’ ‘frequent and significant changes’ to COVID data reporting left hospitals behind
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major learning curve for the Health and Human Services Department, which made iterative changes to the methods and types of data hospitals reported to the agency throughout the pandemic. But the pace of those changes and lack of input from health care practitioners caused major problems, according to the Government Accountability Office. Nextgov
Seattle Children’s using 3D printing to help surgeons practice before delicate surgeries
Seattle Children’s Hospital is using 3D printing to create replicas of patients’ organs and tissue to give its surgical team an opportunity to practice together before an operation, according to an Aug. 6 KIRO 7 report. Becker’s Hospital Review