Des Moines, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds says she and a group of other Republican governors are mulling more legal action in hopes of nullifying the federal requirement that health care workers get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Reynolds spoke with reporters late Wednesday morning in the Capitol rotunda. The governor did not indicate what new path the governors might take.
Reynolds also objects to the Department of Defense requirement that Iowa National Guard members be vaccinated by this summer. About one in five Iowa Guard soldiers haven’t gotten a COVID shot.
Reynolds is among five governors who wrote the U.S. Defense Secretary in December, asking him to withdraw the COVID vaccine mandate for the National Guard. Last week, the Defense Secretary said the vaccinations are a part of ensuring military readiness among all units. Reynolds announced a week ago that her public health emergency proclamation will expire next Tuesday.
Some information on the Iowa Department of Public Health’s online COVID dashboard will be removed. Reynolds says most of the data will be posted elsewhere on the agency’s website.
Reynolds says 24 percent of those who logged onto the COVID dashboard were repeat users who she suspects were there to download data, which is also being compiled by the Centers for Disease Control.
