As COVID-19 fizzles away in the United States, more and more Iowans are either getting vaccinated or have chosen not to be vaccinated. As a result, a new report from Radio Iowa finds 81 of Iowa's 99 counties accepted no new COVID-19 vaccine allotments from the federal government this week. Why? At least one expert says misinformation is a large reason why.

Only 12-percent of the state's allotment was accepted

The Radio Iowa report indicates many Iowans who are declining to be vaccinated are doing so being they have heard misinformation, or don't feel they need the shot(s) as cases continue to drop both state and nationwide. While this is good news, with only 128 reported new cases in 24-hours (as of Thursday, 5/27), the same experts still agree everyone healthy enough to be vaccinated, should be. Furthermore, the state only accepted about 12% of what the government has allotted it. That translates to roughly 8,000 vaccine doses.

Non-English speaking Iowans are not getting vaccinated

The COVID-19 vaccine is free for all Iowans. But that hasn't stopped the homeless and non-English speaking Iowans from not getting vaccinated. According to the report, Polk County, Iowa's most populous county, is aggressively trying to persuade residents with certain language, religious and cultural barriers to becoming accepting of the vaccine.

Only 17 Iowa counties accepted part of what the government has allowed for Iowa. Calhoun County is the only of the 99 counties in Iowa to accept 100% of its allocation. Overall, Iowa ranks 16th in the nation for vaccinations, with just over 40% fully vaccinated or, 1.3 million Iowans in total.

More information on how/where to get vaccinated in the state can be found on the official Vaccinate Iowa page.

 

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