Effective immediately, Iowans with barriers to scheduling a vaccine appointment or who do not have internet access who are 65 and older, or 64 and younger with an underlying health condition as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)  here, can call 211 or (800) 244-7431 and a vaccine navigator will assist them with scheduling a vaccine appointment.

Effective Monday, March 8, Iowa vaccine providers can officially begin vaccinating additional priority populations. Individuals 64 years of age and younger with medical conditions that are or may be an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 are now eligible. See Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) recommendations for those conditions here.

Pursuant to the provisions of these Proclamations and to address a need to assist members of the public with finding information about COVID-19 vaccine providers, and signing up to receive a vaccine, the state is seeking to obtain, on an expedited basis, assistance with the completion of COVID-19 vaccine response activities.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), in partnership with Walgreens and CVS announce the availability of COVID-19 vaccine for approximately 32,000 Iowans age 65 and older. Unused vaccines which were originally allocated to the Long-Term Care Pharmacy Partnership Program have been redistributed to a limited number of Walgreens and CVS stores in select Iowa counties, and reserved for Iowans age 65 and older. This is a one-time, additional allocation of vaccine.

Today, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has confirmed three cases of the COVID-19 variant, SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7. in Iowa. The virus variant is often referred to as the U.K. variant because it was first detected in the United Kingdom. Based on epidemiologic and modeling data, researchers believe that the B.1.1.7 strain can be spread more easily than the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. Current COVID-19 vaccines are considered to be effective against the variant strain.