Northwest Iowa — COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were scheduled to begin being administered to Iowa’s nursing home residents and staff on December 28th. However, two weeks later there are confusion and apparent delays in that process.
Under a federal agreement, Walgreen’s and CVS pharmacies were hired to get the shots deployed to Iowa nursing homes. KIWA talked with O’Brien County Public Health and were told that, as of Monday morning, they knew of only one O’Brien County nursing home to have its residents and staff receive the vaccinations. They said they really had no other information, since the public health agencies are not included in the vaccination project, nor are they privy to any information about its progress.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said late last week that even some nursing home managers say they cannot find out when shots will be administered in their facilities. Reynolds and other governors spoke with executives from the Walgreen’s and CVS late Thursday. She says if the two companies can’t fulfill the contract in a timely manner, local pharmacies should get the business.
The Iowa Department of Public Health has now begun including information on the state coronavirus website regarding the number of vaccinations given in each county in the state. However, the site gives no breakdown as to how many doses went to healthcare workers, how many to nursing home residents, etc. Of of Monday the site shows that 604 doses have been administered in O’Brien County, 206 in Osceola County, 192 in Lyon County and 924 in Sioux County.
