Lorene Rupp, Resident at Brown Deer Place, receiving vaccination.

Submitted

In a press conference on Wednesday, March 24, Governor Kim Reynolds said Iowa is “on target” to open vaccine eligibility to all Iowans beginning April 5.

“When this occurs, once again, there is going to be more demand than supply at first, just as we’ve experienced each time eligibility was expanded, so please be patient,” Reynolds said. “As our weekly allocations continue to increase, so will the number of appointments available and soon there will be enough vaccine for everyone.”

Reynolds said that during the weekly COVID-19 briefing for governors last week, she was informed that Iowa should see an increase of about 25,000 doses compared to previous weeks, for a total of about 128,000 doses of vaccine. This includes 18,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which will be used for employer vaccination clinics.

Reynolds said she anticipates that Iowa will receive an even larger allocation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine the week of April 5, which should continue to increase in following weeks.

Over 1.33 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state and Iowa currently ranks fifth in the nation with vaccine administration. More than 517,000 Iowans are fully vaccinated and 35% of Iowans age 18 and up had had one or more doses, which puts Iowa at 16th in the nation.

Reynolds said 82% of Iowans aged 65 and older have received at least one dose, a decrease from the previously reported figure of 95%.

“Last week when the CDC began reporting administration rates for individuals 65 and up receiving at least one dose of vaccine, there was a noticeable difference between the CDC’s numbers and the state’s data. As we looked into why this was occurring, we discovered an error in a worksheet staff used for calculation. As a result, the state was reporting a higher percentage of Iowans aged 65 and older having received at least one dose,” Reynolds said. “Since then, we have adjusted the calculation, which is the reason for the decrease. But because the state uses Iowa census data to calculate age specific results and the CDC uses population estimates, some variability will continue to exist between the reports.”

Despite this change, Iowa’s administration for adults aged 65 and older ranks in the top 10 nationwide.

“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I want to thank our local public health departments and the many vaccine providers across the state for making this possible,” Reynolds said.

Information about vaccines, including administration, allocation and provider information is available at coronavirus.iowa.gov.