

By Michaela Ramm, Des Moines Register
Polk County, IA-Polk County schools are seeing a significant rise in student absences due to illness.
Fourteen schools throughout Polk County have reported sick absence rates greater than 10% at least one day so far in January, a “significant increase” compared with last year, according to county health officials.
Some schools have even seen greater than 10% absence rate for two or three consecutive days.
Absent rates reaching or exceeding 10% indicate a significant spread of illness within the school, local health officials say.
“We are seeing a marked uptick in illness among students and staff in schools across Polk County,” Juliann Van Liew, Director of the Polk County Health Department, said in a statement. “It’s crucial that we work together as a community to reduce the spread of these illnesses and keep our kids and community healthy.” Â
Last year, Polk County saw “fewer than six” schools reporting absence rates above 10%. Law prevents public health officials from disclosing totals that are less than six, said Addie Olson, spokesperson for the Polk County Health Department.
The culprit for the current rate of student absences are a variety of illnesses circulating amongst students. Reported sicknesses among students include influenza, pneumonia, norovirus and other infectious diseases.
These viruses and bacteria have been on the rise statewide in recent weeks, resulting in dozens of other schools reporting high rates of student absenteeism due to illness, according to state public health officials.
Statewide, 73 schools reported at least 10% absence from illness the week of Jan. 18, the latest data available from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The majority of those schools were in Polk County.
In all, 4% of enrolled students in Iowa were absent because of illness as of the week of Jan. 18, state data shows.
Activity of some respiratory viruses increasing statewide
Influenza and other respiratory virus activity has been on the rise across the state in recent weeks.
Influenza activity in Iowa is moderate, per national and state health experts. The state has a 25% positivity rate for flu as of the week of Jan. 18, according to Iowa HHS.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause severe illness in a community’s youngest and oldest members, has also been on the rise in recent weeks. Iowa has a 11% positivity rate as of Jan. 18, per HHS.
Overall COVID-19 activity is low, with only a 6.6% positivity rate statewide, according to HHS.
Polk County schools continue to see declining immunization rates
Polk County health officials have pointed to overall declining vaccination rates as a contributing factor. With fewer students receiving seasonal vaccines, and even routine immunizations, the spread of illness has a much more harmful impact.
“The number of students who are unvaccinated in Polk County has continued to grow over the last five years,” Olson said in a statement. “We know vaccinations are a key component to stopping the spread of infectious diseases in our community, so decreasing vaccination rates in our schools is a cause for concern.”
State data shows about 32% of all Polk County residents had received their flu shot as of last week. Among those between the ages of 9 and 17 years, that rate dropped to about 23%.
Fifteen percent of Polk County’s resident have received their recommended COVID-19 vaccine, state data shows. Among those aged 9-17 years, the vaccination rate is just 6%.
Immunization reports from the Polk County Health Department show that of the nearly 89,000 students enrolled in Polk County schools for the 2024-25 school year, about 6% — or roughly 5,500 students — were not fully vaccinated with recommended immunizations.
That rate has been steadily increasing since 2018, when about 3% of the county’s student population was not fully vaccinated.
In particular, the county is seeing continued increases in students with religious exemptions. Iowa allows families to opt out of school vaccines if immunizing their child “conflicts with a genuine and sincere religious belief,” but families don’t have to specify a religion to obtain a waiver.
As of this year, nearly 2,900 students have a religious exemption. That’s a dramatic increase from even a few years ago, in 2021, when nearly 1,700 students had a religious exemption.
What steps should families take to stay healthy?
Polk County health officials are encouraging parents and guardians to keep their children home if they are experiencing any symptoms that include vomiting, diarrhea, fever, sore throat or severe cough. They should stay home until they are symptom free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
Families should also encourage their children to hand their hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the restroom or before eating. Public health officials warn that norovirus is resistant to hand sanitizer.
Finally, public health officials say children should be up-to-date on all recommended immunizations.