The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) and the State Hygienic Lab (SHL) are adjusting the state’s approach to provide Iowans convenient access to free COVID-19 testing statewide. 

 The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today that Monona Municipal Water Department has been awarded the 2020 Community Water Fluoridation 50 Year Award from the American Dental Association (ADA), Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for continuously adjusting and maintaining the amount of fluoride in drinking water for the prevention of tooth decay in adults and children.

 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has selected the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) as 1 of 20 recipients across the country who have been awarded funding through the Closing the Gap with Social Determinants of Health Accelerator Plans.

Like most of the country, Iowa has experienced an increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks.

Because of the success of our vaccine campaign, current numbers are a fraction of what they were in November 2020, when the state experienced its highest level of virus activity. 

Today, the FDA authorized full approval for one COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee), for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older.