COVID cases plateau as new subvariants are on the rise

Iowa’s COVID-19 infection rate held roughly steady from a week ago, potentially halting a downward trend that had gone for weeks, according to state data.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,827 new infections on Wednesday among those who were not previously infected, a 5% decrease from last week’s report. However, the number of total positive tests was 2,382, a 2% increase from last week.

The state does not report reinfections — new positive tests among people who were first infected more than 90 days before — in the cases it reports to federal health officials. It’s unclear how many of those positive tests were reinfections because the state does not track and report the figure.

The number of people infected by the virus who are receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals rose slightly from a week ago to 161 on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Of those, nine were under intensive care, which is half the number of last week.

The state also reported 30 new COVID-related deaths, for a total of 10,207 since the start of the pandemic.

The state’s reported infection rate is about a quarter of what it was this time last year. However, an unknown number of infections aren’t being recorded by the state because it doesn’t track the results of in-home, rapid tests, which are widely used.

A tremendous spike of infections last winter was driven by the emergence of the omicron variant, which was first detected in Iowa in December.

Omicron and its subvariants have caused almost all infections for the duration of 2022 in Iowa, according to state data.

However, the long-dominant subvariant BA.5 has had a precipitous decline in the past month in its share of overall infections, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.

BQ subvariants now account for about 27% of infections nationally, up from about 3% at the start of October.

A recent World Health Organization report said there is no evidence yet that BQ infections are more severe, but: “It is likely that these additional mutations have conferred an immune escape advantage over other circulating omicron sublineages, and therefore a higher reinfection risk is a possibility that needs further investigation.”

Most of Iowa has a low threat of infection, according to a recent CDC analysis of infection and hospitalization rates. Six counties in northern Iowa have high threats: Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hancock, Kossuth, Winnebago and Worth. Much of the eastern edge of Iowa has a medium threat.

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