Statewide Iowa — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says a new state website is now available, with information on COVID-19 vaccines, who is eligible to get a shot and links to providers giving shots.
(As above) “But I want to be clear, you cannot schedule an appointment on this site or register to be contacted when scheduling is available,” Reynolds said, “but it will connect you to a provider for scheduling in their system.”
A private company built the vaccinate.iowa.gov website this past week after Reynolds cancelled a contract with Microsoft for a website that would have helped Iowans schedule shots. The new website has a “vaccine locator.”
(As above) “You can find providers near you, click through to their websites to check availability and get details about scheduling,” Reynolds says.
State officials say the website will be functional for smart phones as well as laptops and other computers. In addition, a call-in system is being set up to help Iowans age 65 and over who’ve been unable to schedule vaccinations. The governor says operators answering calls to 211 will begin that service the week of March 8th. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 622-thousand doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered to Iowans — and nearly 53 percent of Iowans over the age of 65 have had at least their first dose.
(As above) “The progress we’ve made over the last several weeks is pushing us toward a turning point in our Covid-19 recovery,” Reynolds says, “and I’m committed to continuing this forward momentum in Iowa.”
Reynolds says it’s expected that 70-percent of the Tier One populations in Iowa will have gotten at least one dose, which includes first responders, K-12 teachers and child care workers. She says the state’s planning ahead for the -next- group.
(As above) “Essential workers and individuals with disabilities living in home settings are expected to start vaccination in early March and achieve the 70% mark in early April,” Reynolds says. “At that time, we could again expand to the next eligible group.”
The governor says doses of the third vaccine, made by Johnson and Johnson, will begin arriving in Iowa next week, with an initial shipment of nearly 26-thousand doses. It will require only a single vaccination, with no follow-up booster shot. The State of Iowa is scheduled to receive more than 91-thousand first doses of vaccines next week for distribution to counties.
