2.6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Iowa – KCCI Des Moines

6,000 IOWANS HAVE DIED. THIS WAS THE FIRST WEEKEND IN MORE THAN A YEAR WHERE FULLY VACCINATED IOWANS COULD GO IN PUBLIC WITHOUT A MASK. THE NEW CDC GUIDELINES ARE MAKING SOME PEOPLE OPTIMISTIC, BUT OTHERS QUESTION JUST HOW SAFE THIS MAKES THEM FEEL IN THEIR COMMUNITY. KCCI’S CALEB JAMES SAT DOWN WITH HEALTH LEADERS HERE IN THE METRO WHO SHARE WHAT IOWANS SHOULD KNOW KAY YEAH, LAURA FIRST OFF ALL THREE PEOPLE. I SPOKE WITH TODAY. SAY THE CDC DIDN’T MAKE THIS MOVE WITHOUT THINKING IT THROUGH THEY POINTED OUT THAT VACCINATION NUMBERS SHOW THAT THERE IS DEFINITELY BEING PROGRESS, BUT THEY CAN’T STRESS ENOUGH. WE’RE STILL A BIT OF WAYS HERE IN IOWA FROM REACHING HER IMMUNITY. WE ARE GETTING CONTROL OF THE PANDEMIC LENA TOOK A REMINDERS AS THE CDC’S NEW MASS GUIDELINES ARE A GOOD SIGN OF IMPROVEMENT. BUT THE IOWA PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FIRMLY BELIEVES. THERE’S STILL MORE TO BE DONE. WE DON’T HAVE HERD IMMUNITY. DON’T HAVE HIGH ENOUGH VACCINATION COVERAGE RATES MORE THAN 1.2 MILLION IOWANS ARE FULLY VACCINATED AS OF SUNDAY AN ACROSS THE US OVER 123 MILLION. PEOPLE ARE IN THE SAME BOAT THE CDC ESTIMATES ROUGHLY 37% OF THE COUNTRY’S POPULATION IS VACCINATED WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN IS FULLY VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS HAVE ENOUGH PROTECTION THAT THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE ALLOWING OUR COMMUNITY TO GO INTO PLACES WITHOUT WEARING A MASK. BUT NOLA AGNER DAVIS SAYS EVERYONE’S LIE WITH PEOPLE WHO AREN’T VACCINATED OR ONLY PARTIALLY NOT WEARING MASKS INDOORS. YOU’RE PUTTING OTHERS AT RISK NOW WHILE PEOPLE WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED DO HAVE A SLIM CHANCE OF GETTING THE CORONAVIRUS THROUGH INTERACTIONS DOCTORS SAY THEIR SECURITY INTO COVID-19 VACCINE NEARLY 100% EFFECTIVE AGAINST SEVERE DISEASE. IT REALLY IS GOING TO KEEP SOMEBODY FROM DYING OR GETTING HOSPITALIZED. AND DR. BOONE’S DRIES A PEDIATRICIAN AT BLANK CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. SO I ASKED ABOUT THE RECENT MOVE TO VACCINATE KIDS 12 YEARS OLD AND OLDER. HE SAID ABSOLUTELY IT WAS A GOOD MOVE. HE TELLS ME COVID IS USUALLY EASIER ON KIDS AND IT IS ON ADULTS, BUT HE DOES WORRY ABOUT THE IMPACT IT HAS ON KIDS’ LUNGS THEIR HEART AND THEIR BLOOD VESSELS IN DES MOI