State routes unused nursing home vaccines to Iowans who are 65 or older

The Iowa Department of Public Health announced Wednesday the expanded availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for approximately 32,000 Iowans who are age 65 or older.

The department says unused vaccines that were originally allocated to Iowa pharmacies for use in nursing homes and other long-term care settings have now been redistributed to a limited number of Walgreens and CVS stores in select Iowa counties, where they’re reserved for Iowans age 65 or older.

Iowans age 65 or older can register online for a vaccine appointment at a participating Walgreens or CVS location near them. The number of appointments are limited to the number of vaccines allocated to each pharmacy.

The department says Iowans who are not able to secure one of these newly reallocated vaccines can be assured that more vaccines are coming to the state on a weekly basis.

Here are the details of the reallocation:

Walgreens pharmacies: Beginning Feb. 3, Iowans age 65 or older can sign up to schedule an appointment at a Walgreens store location in one of the following counties: Black Hawk, Cerro Gordo, Des Moines, Dubuque, Johnson, Linn, Polk, Pottawattamie, Scott and Woodbury. Residents of those counties can register online here, and can read the registration guide here.

CVS pharmacies: Beginning Thursday, Feb. 4, Iowans age 65 or older can sign up to schedule an appointment at a CVS location in one of these counties: Black Hawk, Dallas, Linn and Polk. Residents of those counties can register online here, and can view the registration guide here.