As most of Iowa’s counties are seeing substantial or high levels of community transmission of COVID-19 and only about 47% of Iowans are fully vaccinated, Senator Charles Grassley is urging Iowans to get one of the free available vaccines.

Washington County’s seven-day positivity rate had creeped down during the spring months to a zero percentage rate from July 2-15, but it is now at a rate of 6%. This comes as the Delta variant which is significantly more contagious and spreads faster than any other strain accounts for about 83% of the nation’s COVID-19 cases, according to the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As unvaccinated people are most at risk for the variant, Senator Charles Grassley is telling Iowans 12 and older to get vaccinated, “We know vaccination works, we know it’s the surest thing not to get sick or particularly if you get sick you won’t be hospitalized. It won’t affect you as much as it is if you aren’t vaccinated. I’ve been vaccinated, my wife’s been vaccinated, most of my staff has been vaccinated. So my advice is get vaccinated, particularly [because] it doesn’t cost anything.”

To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, the CDC recommends wearing a mask indoors in public regardless of vaccination status if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission, which includes Washington County as of Tuesday. You can hear more from Grassley during today’s Halcyon House Washington Page on air and at kciiradio.com.