Iowa Continues to Lag in COVID Vaccines – Here’s Why

There are some people who will not, under any circumstance get the COVID-19 vaccine. That may be you. And that's you're right. There are others who will tell you they will or at least plan to get one... whenever they have time or something along those lines. It's a combo of both those groups that are slowing the vaccine rollout in the state. A new report from Radio Iowa indicates only portions of the state are seriously lagging in individuals who are getting vaccinated.

Much of Eastern/NE Iowa has at least 45% of its population vaccinated

A majority of the counties in Eastern/Northeastern Iowa have healthy vaccination numbers. According to a vaccine tracking website using CDC numbers, Johnson County is closing in on 60% vaccinated (over 57% - tops in the state), and Linn County has just over 51% of its residents vaccinated. Black Hawk County is sitting at roughly 44% and Fayette County at about 41%. However, you continue on further north and Winneshiek County has nearly 50% vaccinated.

So where are the holdouts? The Radio Iowa story points out the vaccination rates in both southern and northwestern Iowa have fallen behind. These portions of the state are far more rural, and it's logical a rural area will be behind an urban area, where access to the vaccine is much easier.

Politics do play a role, too according to experts

Do politics play a role as well? Yes according to Shelley Bickel, the administrator of the Wayne County Public Health Department who is quoted in the story. It does appear she's correct. The southern portion of Iowa, along the Missouri border, is showing very low vaccination totals. This is one of the more conservative parts of Iowa. Decatur County has just under 30% of its residents vaccinated. Davis County, not even 29%. The also highly conservative Lyon County in far Northwestern Iowa has under 29% vaccinated.

Overall, Iowa has 47.1% of adults, or 1.48 million residents, fully vaccinated according to data accurate as of June 22nd.