Vaccine rollout moving to second stage

Some Iowans have a clearer picture of when they might receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Gov. Kim Reynolds on Jan. 21 announced the second phase of Iowa's vaccine rollout plan. Under the criteria, Iowans who are 65 and older as well as some essential workers will be able to get the vaccine starting in early February once Phase 1b begins.

There are five tiers under the second phase. Tier 1 includes first responders, law enforcement officers, school staff and child care workers, which consists of an estimated 130,000 Iowans, according to the governor.

Reynolds said the state will tentatively start vaccinating Tier 1 essential workers and older Iowans on Feb. 1 depending on the number of doses it receives. However, the process could be slowed as Reynolds noted the state is currently 46th in the nation for its allocation of COVID-19 vaccination doses.

A vast majority of vaccinations in Iowa have gone to health care workers and nursing home residents. As of Monday, 130,132 vaccine series had been initiated, meaning that many people had received their first dose of the two-shot vaccine. Overall, 32,563 people had received their second dose.

The governor said the speed of the vaccination process would depend on the supply.

"This process is just going to take time," she said during a news conference last week. "Each subsequent tier will be phased in as soon as possible according to the availability of the vaccines and where they're at throughout the state."

Reynolds admitted the vaccination process in Iowa's nearly 450 nursing homes has been "slower than anticipated," but said progress has been made since mid-January.

"We've been assured by the providers that first doses will be completed statewide by the end of the month," she said.

Reynolds is working with Iowa's congressional delegation to figure out why the state's allocation has been comparatively lower than other states.

"When you consider the number of nursing homes, long term care facilities, and assisted living facilities that we have in the state, and the vulnerable populations that those include, I would hope that we could get our allocation bumped up a little bit," she said.