In a three-page email to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office and the Iowa Department of Public Health, Linn County officials questioned and criticized the state’s allocation of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as well as pleaded for local control to allocate the single-dose vaccine to vulnerable populations. Tricia Kitzmann, who is Linn County Public Health’s […]
Iowa Department of Public Health
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Gov. Reynolds doesn’t answer question about political divide on vaccines, announces college vaccination programs
As Iowa prepares to for its largest expansion of eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination — everyone 16 and older for the Pfizer vaccine, and those 18 and older for both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — Gov. Kim Reynolds was asked at her weekly news conference if she any insight into why many people in a […]
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All Iowans will become eligible for COVID-19 vaccination on April 5, Reynolds says
All adults in Iowa will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination starting on Monday, April 5, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced at her news conference on Wednesday. The new eligibility expansion will be contingent on the vaccine supply increasing. According to Reynolds, Biden administration officials assure the nation’s governors vaccine supplies will soon begin to […]
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Iowa Department of Public Health signed a $1.58 million deal with GOP-connected contact tracing company
With no public announcement, the Iowa Department of Public Health approved in January a contract extension for a company with ties to the Iowa Republican Party that the department hired in November to provide COVID-19 contact tracing assistance, Ryan Foley of the Associated Press reported on Friday. The three-month extension will pay MCI $1.58 million. […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Iowans under 65 at increased risk from COVID-19 will be eligible for vaccination starting Monday
Starting Monday, adults under 65 who have a condition the CDC recognizes as putting them at higher risk of developing severe illness due to COVID-19 will become eligible to be vaccinated in Iowa, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced on Thursday evening. According to the CDC, “Adults of any age with the following conditions […]
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Gov. Reynolds assesses her pandemic performance ahead of Iowa’s COVID anniversary
Gov. Kim Reynolds began her news conference on Wednesday by noting that “almost 23 percent of eligible Iowans age 18 and up, and almost 70 percent — 69.5 — of older Iowans, age 65 and above, have received at least their first dose” of COVID-19 vaccine. The governor said she expects the rate of vaccination […]
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Iowa launches website to help people find COVID vaccine providers, with senior call center promised soon
The Iowa Department of Public Health launched a new site on Friday that is intended to make finding a COVID-19 vaccine provider for Iowans currently eligible to be vaccinated easier. “Vaccinate.iowa.gov will provide information about eligibility resources available to assist Iowans, and answers to frequently asked questions,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said, announcing the site at […]
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Gov. Reynolds cancels plans for a ‘one-stop shop’ website for COVID-19 vaccination scheduling
Two weeks after announcing the state was going to launch a website that would be “a centralized registration and referral system” for people trying to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination, Gov. Kim Reynolds said no such site will be created. The governor described the planned website as “a one-stop shop where Iowans could provide their information […]
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Gov. Reynolds uses elimination of COVID-19 restrictions in fundraising pitches
Gov. Kim Reynolds is fundraising off her elimination of Iowa’s few COVID-19 restrictions, telling supporters she is standing up to “radicals on the Left” who “want to shut Iowa down.” The governor tweeted out that message on Thursday morning, and asked “Are you with me?” Iowa is coming back and we are coming back strong. […]
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‘Absolutely mind-boggling’: Gov. Reynolds didn’t ask for the IDPH’s opinion before eliminating statewide mask mandate
Gov. Kim Reynolds did not consult with the Iowa Department of Public Health before eliminating the limited statewide mask mandate that had been in place since mid-November, according to state Sen. Claire Celsi. The Des Moines Democrat tweeted on Monday that she “listened in on a phone call” between interim Iowa Department of Public Health […]
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Gov. Reynolds eliminates Iowa’s few significant COVID restrictions
Gov. Kim Reynolds is eliminating the state’s few remaining significant COVID-19 restrictions, even though the Iowa Department of Public Health confirmed earlier this week that a more contagious variant of the virus is circulating in the state. On Sunday, the state’s limited mask mandate will end, and the restrictions on the size of gatherings and […]
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Five Linn County school superintendents ask Gov. Reynolds to prioritize vaccinating school staff
Five Linn County school superintendents sent a joint letter to Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday asking for additional COVID-19 vaccine doses to be allocated to the state’s priority populations in light of the Feb. 15 deadline for school districts to provide all in-person instruction. The superintendents ask state officials to reallocate 64,000 doses of vaccine […]
