THE ANKENY DISTRICTS DECISION COMES AS NUMBER OF NEW COVID-19 CASES IN IOWA IS SKYROCKETING NEW NUMBERS FROM THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT SHOW NEARLY 33,000 IOWANS TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE DISEASE IN THE LAST SEVEN DAYS. THAT’S AN INCREASE OF 31% FMRO FRIDAY. IOWA’S TEST POSITIVITY RATE ALSO JUMPED TO NEAYRL 20% UP FROM 17 AND A HALF PERCENT. JUST THREE DAYS AGO. MEANWHILE, IOWA COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS ACROSS THE STATE ARE DOWN SLIGHTLY OVER THE PAST THREE DAYS 886 PATIENTS ARE NOW BEING TREATED. DOWN 12 FRIDAY MORE THAN 73% OF THOSE HOSPITALEDIZ WITH COVID-19, IOWA ARE NOT FULLY VA CCINATED METRO DOCTORS EXPECT TO SEE HIGH CASE COUNTS IN IOWA FOR AT LSTEA ANOER TWOTH WEEKS, BUT THEY ALSO SAY CIDOV-19 IS VERY UNPREDICTABLE MERCY ONE INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, DR. RAVI VIMORIAY SS, IT APPEARS THAT OMICRON CAUSES LESS SEVERE ILLNESSES TNHA THE OERTH VARIANTS BUT HOSPITALS ARE STILL OVERWHELMED TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE SURGE IN PATIENTS. WE JUST HAVE A HIGH NUMBER OF BEDS OCCUPIED BY PEOPLEIT WH ACVETI ONGOING COVID OR PEOPLE THAT ARE NO LONGER IN COVID ISOLATION, BUT THEY’RE NOT WELL ENOUGH TO BE DISCHARGED YET AND THEY’RE SLLTI RECOVERING FROM THE RESIDUAL EFFECTS OF THE INFECTION, WHICH IS NOW LGON GONE, BUT HAS LEFT THEM WITH ALL KINDS OF SHOES THAT THEY HAVE TO GET OVER DR. VERMAURY TELLS US THEY ARE IN A GAP RIGHT NOW WAITGIN FOR A NEW ANTI-VIRAL MEDICATION TO TREAT OMICRON. HE SAYS THE CURRENT MONO. ANTE
Iowa specialist says omicron variant appears to cause less severe illness
![KCCI logo]()
Updated: 6:13 PM CST Jan 10, 2022
Iowa doctors expect to see high case counts of COVID-19 for at least another two weeks, but they also say the virus is very unpredictable.MercyOne Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Ravi Vemuri said it appears the omicron variant causes less severe illness than the other variants. But he said hospitals are still overwhelmed trying to keep up with the surge in patients."We just have a high number of beds occupied by people with active ongoing COVID, or people that are no longer in COVID isolation. But they're not well enough to be discharged yet, and they're still recovering from the residual effects of the infection, which is now long gone, but has left them with all kinds of issues that they have to get over,” Vemuri said.Vemuri told KCCI they are in a gap right now waiting for new anti-viral medications to treat omicron. He said the current monoclonal antibodies are not as effective against this variant.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa doctors expect to see high case counts of COVID-19 for at least another two weeks, but they also say the virus is very unpredictable.
MercyOne Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Ravi Vemuri said it appears the omicron variant causes less severe illness than the other variants. But he said hospitals are still overwhelmed trying to keep up with the surge in patients.
"We just have a high number of beds occupied by people with active ongoing COVID, or people that are no longer in COVID isolation. But they're not well enough to be discharged yet, and they're still recovering from the residual effects of the infection, which is now long gone, but has left them with all kinds of issues that they have to get over,” Vemuri said.
Vemuri told KCCI they are in a gap right now waiting for new anti-viral medications to treat omicron.
He said the current monoclonal antibodies are not as effective against this variant.
