DES MOINES, Iowa —
Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday held a news conference to address the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout.
Reynolds said a new website would be launched Friday to answer frequently asked questions about vaccines and include a vaccine locator to help connect eligible Iowans with vaccine providers.
“But I want to be clear, you cannot schedule an appointment on this site or register to be contacted when scheduling is available, but it will connect you to a provider for scheduling in their system,” Reynolds said.
The site can be found at vaccinate.Iowa.gov.
The governor also said the state is creating a dedicated team of vaccine navigators through the 211 call center to schedule appointments for Iowans aged 65 and older who are unable to do so online. The service will be available March 8.
The news comes after the state had worked with Microsoft to develop a centralized website to assist with vaccine information for Iowans. The plan was later scrapped.
Reynolds said she learned during the weekly White House COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday that shipping delays have resulted in a backlog of nearly 6 million vaccine doses.
“Additional shifts were added at distribution points to clear the backlog and ensure that this week’s supply was moved as quickly as possible. Since the weekend, more than 15 million doses were shipped nationwide. We were told on the call that the backlog would be cleared as of yesterday and current allocations should be completed by tomorrow,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said shipments to Iowa counties were running late due to the shipping delays but are now on track.
The governor said during the White House call she also learned that federal vaccine allocation for states will increase by another million doses next week.
Additionally, Reynolds said doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available to Iowans next week.
“We just confirmed this morning that 25,800 doses of Johnson & Johnson allocation next week,” Reynolds said.
Find out how you can get vaccinated in Iowa here.
STORY FROM KCCI TV-8
