During Wednesday morning’s press conference, Gov. Kim Reynolds updated Iowans on the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination rates throughout Iowa.

“This week, as I’ve had a chance to reflect on the last year, I’ve thought a lot about the many challenges that Iowans have endured,” Reynolds said in her opening remarks. “From the overwhelming sense of uncertainty about the pandemic to its direct impact on health, employment, education and nearly every aspect of our lives.” 

Initially, Reynolds discussed the progress made by the state in the past year. She said Test Iowa had tested more than 604,000 Iowans, approximately one-third of all tests done in the state. 

Reynolds continued saying that the one-millionth Iowan would be vaccinated this week, one year after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Iowa. 

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that Iowa had administered more than 952,000 doses to individuals 18 years and older. Reynolds reported that this is 27 percent of the state’s population and places Iowa at 10th in the nation, compared to all other states. 

Reynolds reported that 298,000 second doses have also been administered within the state, meaning that 13 percent of Iowans have been fully vaccinated. This places Iowa at 27th in the nation. 

Additionally, Reynolds said approximately 70 percent of first responders, child care providers and K-12 teachers had received at least one dose of the vaccine and almost 90 percent of long-term care residents will receive their second dose by the end of March. Finally, Reynolds reported that 94 percent of Iowans over the age of 65 had received at least one dose. 

Last week, the first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine arrived in Iowa with 25,600 doses to be distributed throughout the state. Approximately 160,000 essential workers in manufacturing and food processing jobs have been and will be vaccinated with these doses. More than 18,000 have already received their dose of the vaccine. Later this week, https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/ will be updated with the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution information. 

Reynolds reported that vaccine eligibility had been expanded to include Iowans ages 16-64 with preexisting health conditions. 

In addition to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, Reynolds moved the conversation to discuss the child care crisis throughout the state. She said the lack of quality child care was a problem before the pandemic but has since been amplified. 

The Economic Advisory Board identified child care as the number one opportunity for economic growth. Reynolds said she would be issuing an executive order Wednesday to establish the Governor’s Child Care Task Force. 

On Wednesday, the Department of Human Services and Iowa Work Force Development were awarded $13 million to support the expansion of child care in communities across the state. 

“Access to child care is an issue in every single corner of our state and we need to do everything that we can to resolve it so that every Iowa parent can pursue opportunities to better themselves and their families,” Reynolds said. 

As the press conference transitioned into questions, Reynolds explained that Iowa was not opening up eligibility to all Iowans as other states have because of the number of vaccines allocated to the state. They are unsure of how many Johnson & Johnson vaccines Iowa will receive in the coming weeks and will be prioritizing those whose health would be most negatively impacted by COVID-19. 

It has been projected by both the state of Iowa and the Biden administration that all adults will be eligible to receive the vaccine by the middle of May.