“I’m proud of where our numbers are at,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said regarding COVID-19 during a photo-op with two turkeys at the governor’s mansion on Tuesday, “and we’re going to continue to make vaccines available and encourage people to get them if they want to.” According to the Iowa Department of Public Health’s latest data, […]
COVID-19 vaccine
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Gov. Reynolds says Iowa will sue to stop federal vaccine requirements; more than 7,000 Iowans have died of COVID, IDPH says
Iowa “will take immediate legal action to challenge” new workplace standards on COVID-19 vaccinations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said. In a written statement after OSHA published the new standards, Reynolds called the effort to increase vaccination rates and protect workers in congregate settings from being exposed […]
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Iowa City schools will host COVID-19 vaccine clinics for students between the ages of 5 and 11
Iowa City schools will hold COVID-19 vaccination clinics for students between the ages of 5 and 11 starting next week, the Iowa City Community School District announced on Wednesday. The CDC and FDA gave final approval to the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday. Statewide, there are approximately 284,000 children in that age […]
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Roughly two out of five COVID-19 deaths in Iowa were preventable, former UI Public Health dean postulates
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 117 deaths from COVID-19 in its weekly update on Wednesday, increasing the state’s pandemic death toll to 6,965. The number of deaths from the virus reported by IDPH has increased in every weekly update in October. “It is instructive to compare Iowa and Minnesota, which have nearly […]
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COVID-19: More than 9,800 new cases reported; anti-vaxxers rally at the Iowa State Capitol
After three weeks of reporting over 10,000 new cases in each of its weekly COVID-19 updates, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 9,860 newly confirmed cases of the virus. Although it was it was a decline from the previous update’s total of 10,812 new cases, it also marked the seventh week with a rate […]
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False news retweeted by Rep. Miller-Meeks earns AP fact check, tweet still not deleted
“Big, if true” is a years-old meme used on Twitter to parody journalists who retweet unverified news reports or bombshell rumors accompanied by a noncommittal phrase. The meme makes a joke out of dull, dumb, or understated headlines: “Macauley Culkin dined out in Los Angeles today.” Big, if true. “Alex Jones says the Pentagon is […]
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COVID-19: Almost 12,000 new cases, 64 more deaths; UI’s ‘few protections’ get national attention
In its weekly update on Wednesday, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 11,723 confirmed cases of COVID-19, a 39 percent increase from the 8,408 new cases during the previous seven-day reporting period. The rate of new cases in this latest update is the highest the state has experienced since Jan. 11. For the […]
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Linn County holding six COVID-19 vaccination clinics at CR schools, will offer gift cards to people who get shots
Linn County Public Health is trying to encourage more residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by adding six one-day vaccine clinics at Cedar Rapids schools starting on Wednesday, and offering a special incentive for those get a shot. “The clinics are open to anyone age 12 and older, with parental consent required for those under […]
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Iowa City to reopen City Hall on Thursday
City Hall will fully reopen on Thursday. The building closed to the general public on March 18, 2020, as COVID-19 began to spread widely in the city and the state. “These changes signal a move back to pre-pandemic operations; however, the City will remain vigilant in monitoring the local and national public health situation. For […]
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Gov. Reynolds says no to vaccine incentives, yes to running for reelection; State Auditor says she misused pandemic aid again
“I am really happy with where we’re at,” Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters on Thursday, explaining that Iowa doesn’t need to follow the example of other states and create lotteries or other incentives to persuade people to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In April, the governor announced a goal of having 65 percent of eligible Iowans […]
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Brock About Town: Back on the town
Gentle readers, for the first time in over a year, Brock About Town is living up to her name. Having gotten my “Fauci ouchie” (and muted all my Facebook friends who call it that), I have ventured outside of the nuclear fallout bunker that I’m beginning to worry was a waste of money to find […]
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Hy-Vee will give gift cards to people who get their COVID-19 vaccinations at its locations
States around the country have used federal pandemic aid to create incentives programs, ranging from million-dollar lotteries to free fishing licenses, to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Iowa’s Gov. Kim Reynolds has decided to rely on outreach programs by county health agencies, and done nothing new at the state level. Instead, her approach […]
